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Post by Kaj Oenfer on Feb 28, 2016 12:32:45 GMT
"Riot, check your fire," Taffer sent, "concentrate on protecting flanks of Sandy's group. Attila, keep shields on but be ready to drive forward."
"Kaj, we protect Sandy's group from snipers and rocketeers. So watch around and pick your targets."
With that said Taffer engaged his Cloak and took a crouched position behind one of the rover's wheels. He fired a couple of bursts at mobsters who were trying to aim at Sandy's group from a distance and then changed his position to a nearby rock. He continued shooting once got there and proceeded at changing his position after several shots. This way he could avoid too much fire drawn at him but at the same time it would make an illusion that there were more people firing from various positions.
Attila acknowledged and kept the Garilu ready to drive forward if neededm with shields engaged and it's defensive weapons at the ready to fire as needed. Kaj, on the other hand, kept his position behind the Garilu but moving from side to side as needed to help keep his teammates and friends covered and protected. Kaj aimed at a gunman that was shooting towards the commandos and Sandy. However Kaj couldn't get a clear shot at the shooter due to the guy taking cover behind some rubble. He could however clearly see the guy's gun, as the gunner fired over his makeshift cover. So Kaj re-adjusted his aim to focus on the gun instead of the shooter, and fired. He hit his new target, sending it flying across the open terrain, and leaving the man now unarmed on a battlefield and unsure of what to do now that he is without a weapon.
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Post by Sandy Bell on Feb 28, 2016 14:38:02 GMT
When Sandy Bell was in college, she once went to the local museum to see a traveling Early American Art exhibit for a class project. The class was a fine arts elective that was required for her B.A. degree, so being an engineering major, she didn't take the project very seriously and was merely going through the motions, meandering through the museum when a picture suddenly piqued her interest. Sandy made a beeline to it, then stood for an hour in front of it, only moving to look at it from different angles. The painting was Frederic Remington's work entitled, "The Last Stand", which won the Silver Medal at the Paris Expedition in 1889, and the pathos of it intrigued her to no end.  Why Sandy thought of that painting at this moment was no great mystery. The counter-charge she had led had bogged down to a complete halt, two of the five commandos accompanying her were down - one dead, one incapacitated - and they were completely surrounded by their foe, who had not broken like she was sure they would. Sandy did not know that an hour before the battle at the criminals' local hangout, the mobsters had been plied with round after round of alcoholic drinks spiked with bravery boosting drugs by an unknown benefactor, who then convinced them that they deserved the bounty on Sandy Bell offered by Commander Kima for all the work they put into searching for her, even if they had not captured her. If Sandy had known, she probably would not have begun her ill fated charge; but fact was, she didn't know and she did initiate the charge, so she felt responsible for the present situation her and the Irathient commandos around her were in. "I'm living a reenactment of Custer's last stand," Bemoaned Sandy to herself. "I tried to warn you," Admonished Sarge, her EGO psyche, "All those red dots on the EGO radar - now they have totally surrounded us. By the way, watch to your eight!" Sandy turned to her back left and fired without thinking, killing the thug with the machete creeping up behind her with the last bullet in her Magnum pistol and just as her overcharge petered out. Kima's Blaster, which she had taken from his holster, still had half a charge, so she continued firing with it as she suddenly felt Sargent Maas' back against her's. "This plan has gone schtako," Observed Sargent Maas calmly, "Time for a tactical retreat!" "Agreed, but not a retreat, lets call it a strategic withdrawal," Replied Sandy, then ordered, "Commandos, pick up your fallen comrades, punch a hole up the hill, and I'll cover you as you go up the hill and behind the vehicles!" Sandy crouched and fired all around her, keeping the mobsters attention on her as the commandos did as she ordered, but suddenly she felt someone's back pressed against hers again and the slight vibration every time that person fired their quickblaster as she heard Maas' voice say, "Oh, you didn't mean me, did you Captain? Besides, after we punched the hole as you ordered and the boys were making their way up the hill, I was kind of left with nothing to do!" "Sargent, its a pleasure to serve with you," Replied Sandy with a wide grin on her pretty tanned face, thinking if she had to die today, at least it would be in good company, for a good purpose, and as a good soldier. |
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Post by Taffer on Feb 28, 2016 18:52:37 GMT
Taffer changed the magazine of his Carbine. Now he and Kaj were covering the retreat of the Collective commandos group. Their path was clean now, but something was wrong and it didn't take him much tie to determine what exactly. Sandy and that Irathient girl, who was leading the commandos when Kima was captured, still stayed in the field with mobsters getting closer and closer to them. Something had to be done about it and it should be done fast.  "Volodya, get into the Riot! Lu, once Volodya gets in, give him your Pulverizer. Then get the ship into the air and hover it over Sandy's position. Once there, Volodya will jump out and cover Sandy and Sargent with the Pulverizer's bubble. Once done, Lu you clear the place with ship's thrusters. Then pick our people into the ship and get back to the landing spot. Atika, set the radar to detect heavy weapon lock-on on the ship. Send all detected targets to Archer to destroy. My EGO will help detecting them from my point of view. Now execute ASAP!"  He changed his position again and fired another burst at another group who was getting close to Sandy. By that time he killed all the enemies wielding heavy weapons which his EGO could detect during the fight, but he was sure there were more of them who just didn't turn their weapons on before the ship got in the air. Now it all depended on how quick his team could execute his plan and on how quick he would be with finding and killing those who would raise their rocket launchers at the Riot. |
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Feb 28, 2016 19:17:50 GMT
"Can't execute that order, Taffer. Boys with the rockets are ready for our take off, so I am not risking with our ship and people's lives," said Volodja. "But I have another idea how to hold attackers back and buy us some time, so we can continue with your plan. Since the Cheese Rolling offered quite interesting sight with all those people sliding downwards, then I have one word to say - "heʻe hōlua." "He...what?" asked Marcel & Co. "Heʻe hōlua. Don't look at me as I lost my rooftop and I am raving. It's the original name of the sport, I want to introduce you with. I change foggy Albion for sunny Hawaii and practice some lava sledding. Quite an ancient sport it is. Hawaiians are not only surfers, you know. They also practised sledging. Can't get me a decent papa hōlua though. That's the word for the lava sledge. But it actually moves on the grass too. No time to build myself one, so we have to improvise here...again. Plastic should be slippery enough for grass sledging. Trash bag will do perfectly, if we find one which is long enough to reach my waistline...If not, then I will take several and combine them...No time to combine those bags with the cardboard box for a more solid sledge, so I must use trash bags exclusively. All I have to do is put my legs into the bag, grab it's edge and steer with my hands and body. No heavy weapons for luggage for me. My pistols and shovel will have to do the job and by job, I mean shaking attacking mob thoroughly, once I reach behind their backs. That manoeuvre should buy you enough time to clear out those anti air missile crews and lift our ship to proceed with your plan...after I have tried to slow down the attack on Sandy's positions. If I have completed my test on sledge eoute and rejoined Sandy then you can put the Pulverizer into another trash bag and send it sown to us... Post Scriptum - Marcel! You will stay here and roll another boulder on attackers, although I think that they had enough already to avoid this side of the hill. But first you have to give me a decent push, so I could speed up right away." While Volodja gave a lecture to others, he was already in action. Volodja tore himself a trash bag from the roll which was tossed him from the "Riot", arranged himself into a sitting position with his legs straightly extended in front of him inside the bag and Marcel pushed him away after he finished his lecture. Volodja slid down on the hillside, avoiding bumps by leaning on side and then on another and repeating the procedure as much as needed. His speed grew with every passed metre and only other sound for him, except whistling wind on his ears, was couple of muffled curses when he could not avoid couple of bumps and hit them with his bottom.  Few seconds...and curses later, Volodja entered the battle. He could use his hands to slow down his speed until he completely stops or throw himself to the ground, but Volodja chose another way - he prepared himself and rammed the row of attackers as a torpedo, knocking them off their feet as a bowling bowl would do with the pins after a flush, performed by a strong and skilful hand. Impact was strong enough to create a corridor among the attacking crowd, because those who didn't got hit by his feet, jumped aside to avoid getting knocked down and rolling downhill. Side jumps became really popular after Volodja reached Overcharged hands to his sides and pulled some attackers to the ground to slow his moving. When Volodja finally stopped remains of his "sledge" he already created enough confusion among local mobsters. And they became even more confused when Volodja got on his feet, pulled out couple of his pistols after a second long staggering and opened fire, making every bullet count while he yelled orders to imaginable troops who supposedly attacked mobsters from behind, because Volodja cut through attackers as a sharp knife cuts through butter chunk and found himself in position in the rear of most of attackers, so he adjusted his tactics according to the situation and started to run uphill again. His shots and orders created an illusion that attackers were placed between hammer and anvil and it seemed to be only matter of time when the hammer is smashing them. It was not the most heroic or elegant rescue attempt in the history of war, but it was still quite effective one... "Route is tested. It works. When I reach to Commandos send the Pulverizer down," he requested through an EGO link. "We will catch and use it." And then there was more shooting and shouting from him when he kept moving and switching Decoy and Blur while doing that, to demoralize attackers on his way up to rejoin their squad... |
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Post by Chase Lonehart on Feb 29, 2016 7:54:20 GMT
Iri was the first to step inside, with the Wolfhound gripped tight in her hands. She had no idea what could be inside this place, but it seemed odd that the tunnel would be there fresh and new and encountering a place even older than the caves that formed around it. Iri kept her gun up, carefully sweeping the area like how she saw the others do it. She noted a hallway that took a right turn and disappeared from view, her assuming that there was more than just the front area where the door had slid into. Iri noticed some of the nearby equipment and artifacts, recalling some of the television transmissions long ago when they got close enough to Earth to receive them. “This looks close to some of the stuff I remember seeing on some old TV shows,” Iri told Irisa. “Really pre-war. Chase would probably find this interesting if he were here.” Iri and Irisa moved down the hall until they reached a corner. Iri peeked around the corner real quick to see if there was anyone or anything dangerous and snapped back, not seeing anyone. She slowly peeked around, bringing her gun up as she moved out from the cover of the corner. Down towards the end of the stretch appeared to be another an old metal hatch, similar to ones she’s seen in movies set in submarines during Earth’s second word war. The hatch appeared to have a small circular window build into it, a blue light emitting from inside whatever room was behind it shined through. They carefully approached the door carefully, keeping their backs against the walls on either side of the hall as they stepped close to it. Irisa got a grip on the round wheel at the center of the door, pulling it to the left. The sound of whatever deadbolts in the door sliding inward ended with a large thunk. With a slight tug, the hatch swung open. Iri proceeded in first, having her Wolfhound up and ready for action. Inside what appeared to be a rather sizable workshop appeared to be some sort of egg shaped orb with golden tendrils that wrapped the bubble’s surface, the blue light from within lighting the room where it drew out the rest of the lights that were on. From what Iri could make out, there appeared to be some sort of shape within the orb. “Is that what I think it is?” Iri asked. “Sleep pod,” Irisa replied. “I thought so.” Iri switched to diagnostic mode, seeing what appeared to be some Earth-based hardware attached to the pod. She also could spot a cable leading from the equipment and around a corner on the far side of the room. Following the cable, she took a peek around the corner to find a what it was connected to, finding a rather sizable missile on a grappling arm, it aiming downward towards the ground. As she approached, she realized that there was no ground that the missile was pointing towards. As she moved to the opening, she noticed mesh grating and got a clear view down a massive pit with no noticeable end in sight. She noticed how the grated floor split down the center of the room, giving an indication that the grated floor retracted into the wall to allow access to the shaft below her. But Iri noticed the cable leading up into what appeared to be the side of the very front, where the warhead was located. “That looks bad,” she heard Irisa from behind her. Iri went back into the room with the sleep pod, deciding to peek into it to see if she could see who was inside. Irisa stepped up next to her as she was trying to get a good look inside. She could make out the face inside. The face of the Castithan inside seemed familiar to her. She couldn’t place where at first but then it came to her. She remembered her as Lena Marr. She felt so silly for forgetting since Indogenes were suppose to have excellent memories. Poor Lena's name and face sort of got temporarily lost in the shuffle of the situations. Between being focused on trying to restore Chase's memories and everything else, she had as what humans would call "a brain fart." But she remembered it now. “Do you think the Castithan woman is still alive in there?” the Irath asked her. "Yes, just in deep sleep. This is definitely an Omec sleep pod, although the rest of the technology is definitely human, and from a long way back. Definitely pre-Pale Wars, but ancient. I'd say circa 1940s to 1960s. The fact the sleep pod is connected to that large nuclear missile aimed down a shaft leading to what looks like the Earth’s core makes me nervous.” “Can you get her out of the sleep pod without either killing her or setting off the missile?” That was the big question that Irisa asked her. Iri went over and examined the equipment much closer, looking at it and recalling how things looked at the missile. “I’m familiar with Earth tech. Omec tech is another issue. I’m limited in my knowledge of Omec tech and this is outside of that knowledge base. But, I think Meh Yewll may be able to help with that, since I know she had involvement with… Well… A certain action taken by our people in an attempt to protect us from them. So, I guess our task of getting the cloning equipment has been stalled for now.” “But can you get her out of there without killing her or setting off the missile?” “I can try,” was the only response she could give. “How about you go find Yewll and Rynn, get them here so we can try this. I’m going to see if I can get a better look at the connection to the missile.” ——————————————————— "We found them," Vo told him. "They contacted us and they are heading to our landing spot. You know Chase, if this place holds some special meaning to you, we can visit it later yet again, although it looks long forgotten and desolated.” “It holds no value to me,” Chase replied, continuing to look out the window at his right and trying hard from breaking down. “Never been there before.” Vo seemed quiet for a moment, cranking up the vehicle. “But now we better meet our team mates and make sure they are safe as it seems like they are still chased by someone,” Vo told him. “Okay.” Chase wasn’t sure of what it was that happened, but he had never felt so much sadness. It was as if life had given him a second chance and then ripped it from him, trying to take away whatever amount he had left to care with it. Why had his mother appeared to him as a nun? Why now? And worse, was he losing his mind? More questions began to haunt him, with him unsure with each question and no answers to fill them. “Taf, what’s going on there?” Vo asked as he continued to drive. “Can we help from our side? Is one of ours got hit? Is it more important then us helping you fend off the crowd? On my way.” Chase had been out of it to notice the transmissions from Taffer. Vo kept his attention on the road as he addressed him. “We’re going to catch the sniper, dead or alive,” Vo told Chase. He pushed the thought out of his head as he focused on the task. As they approached the location Taffer had sent them, Chase spotted the guy running for an old, beat up motorcycle with a sniper rifle slug and hanging from his back side. “Chase, turn the jammer on,” Vo told him to. Chase took a moment to focus on the jamming equipment, finding the power switch. “Now peek out of the roof hatch with your Thunder and shoot at the side passages so he won’t try to hide in them. Let’s drive him out of the city so we could have more freedom to catch him!” “Or kill him,” Chase completed the line. “We’re looking to get him alive, Chase. May want to know who he’s working for.” Chase pulled the Thunder up from the floorboard, finding the hatch that Vo had told him about. With a twist of the handle, Chase pushed up on the hatch as he headed up. He quickly took aim and started firing at the sniper as he started to turn towards the first side passage, driving the sniper away from it and back into the street. The jammer vehicle shifted heavily to keep up, Chase’s side slamming hard against the rim of the roof. He pushed himself back off the edge, shaking off the pain as he focused back on the task once more. With each side passage that came, Chase laid down fire to keep the sniper from going down them until they were able to get outside of the city. He knew they needed to get this sniper before they could get away, but the fact that they were approaching a heavily wooded area, he knew they were going to lose that person out there, and Chase wasn’t going to have that. The sniper had managed to get to the edge of the woods and disappeared within it. Chase pulled himself up onto the roof, knowing he was going to hit the ground running. Just as Vo slammed on brakes to come to a stop, Chase jumped, launching himself off into the roof and straight into the woods. Vo’s calling out of Chase’s name fell on deaf ears as Chase tried to find the sniper inside the thick brush. He kept his weapon up, trying to find clues as to where the sniper went to. The first thing he remembered was how to track, finding small details. He notice a shoe print on the ground, it looking like it barely pushed in deep into the dirt. He noticed that the back of the shoe print barely was there while the front was more detailed. This told him that the sniper ran on the balls of their feet. Chase could hear Vo calling out far behind, but he couldn’t call out in order to preserve the element of surprise and kept himself on task. It was at that moment he heard the sound of something snapping behind, which caused him to turn around. Chase was confused again, and yet, seeing yet another familiar face in front of him. He couldn’t believe it. He closed his eyes, shaking his head, trying to snap out of whatever it was that he was in. When he opened his eyes again, the man was still standing there. “You remember the rules of guns, don’t you?” the man asked. “Don’t point a gun unless you intend to shoot.” “This isn’t possible,” Chase replied. “You’re dead. I know you’re dead. I saw you die! You’re not real!” “Well, I may not be real,” the man told him. “But that guy coming up behind you is.” At that moment, Chase felt the butt of a sniper rifle meet the back of his neck in an attempt to knock him out. However, his shield dispersed the force, but not enough to keep his balance. Chase hit the ground hard just as the sniper jumped on him, pushing the rifle hard against Chase’s throat. He couldn’t see the sniper’s face, a baseball cap and a bandana blocking the clear view of the person’s face. He tried to focus, trying to figure out what to do. He tried to pull the rifle from his throat, as the sniper struggled to keep it in place. It was then he looked up to see his father looking down at him.  “Come on, son,” he said. “Remember what I taught you.” “I.. I ca-“ Chase tried to say. “Come on now, Chase. You got this! Fight back! And don’t forget, you got that mean right hook.” Chase took his left hand off the rifle, placing his hand on their head to push and shoving his thumb into their eye. He didn’t pay attention to the scream, but Chase took advantage of this by rearing his right arm back, telling himself to go forty-five percent and delivered a blow so hard to knock his attacker off of him. Chase took a second to breathe before he finally got over and on top the sniper, flipping them over and pinning them down. He placed his knee right at the back of their neck, holding their right arm back and in the wrong direction enough to keep them still. Finally, he heard movement from behind him, Chase turning to find Vo there, and his father gone. “Glad you finally could catch up,” Chase told him, relieved to see Vo instead of another ghost. |
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Post by Sandy Bell on Feb 29, 2016 13:43:18 GMT
Now that he had time to think from his position on top of the struggling sniper, Chase Lonehart noted several things. First, that the outfit that the sniper was wearing was padded, but not padded in order to protect certain parts of the body, but rather to disguise certain parts. Second, the footprint that Chase had found earlier didn't just show that the person walked on the balls of their feet, but that their feet were rather small and that the person owning them didn't weigh as much as the bulky outfit would suggest. Third, the scream he heard when he poked the eye of the sniper was rather high pitched for a man. And finally, the sniper's right arm that he held in the wrong direction to keep control of his captive was attached to a hand that was not only delicate but whose fingernails were painted with a lovely pink nail polish. "This is NOT a man," Muttered Chase under his breath, suppressing his southern gentleman's instincts to jump up and help the woman to her feet. Hearing this, Vo knelt next to the pair and tore the cap and scarf from the head of the woman, revealing the frightened blue diamond eyes and disturbingly familiar face of Teagan Allyn. Vo suddenly had a hunch, and with a deep frown he picked up the sniper's rifle with his clay red hands and examined it closely with his cyan eyes, putting the barrel of it close to his nose, confirming what his enhanced senses had already told him. "This rifle is brand new," Exclaimed Vo, trying not to look at the captive's face that looked so like his beloved Belle Starr, "And not only that, it's never been fired!" Meanwhile back at the hill in Cuzco, Volodja had just slid by Sandy Bell and disembarked off his trash bag sled to begin his assault on the thugs around her and Sargent Maas. Sandy grinned as she renewed her firing of Kima's Blaster at the thugs, while Maas hostered her now empty Quickblaster, picking up a dead mobster's assault rifle to continue her attack as well. From the flying ship hovering above, Archer fired the ship's heavy weapons further decimating the enemies' ranks, so much so that the remaining criminals began to turn and run as fast as their legs could carry them. When all Sandy could see was the backs of the retreating enemy, she jumped into the air in excitement yelling with a big grin on her tan and pretty face, "WAHOO! Now that's what I'm fucking talking about! A full god damn rout!" Then turned to Sargant Maas, shouting loudly to be heard over the ship's big guns, "Did you see my man? Now that's a fucking hero! Never ever was there a - "  Suddenly Sandy was knocked into a sitting position on the hill, a red stain quickly spreading across her Kevlar armored tunic just under her left breast. Sargent Maas aimed the assault rifle towards the direction she figured the shot must have come from, scanning the area with the telescopic scope of the gun. A sudden blueish light caught her attention, and she looked seeing the silhouette of a large man in front of the door shaped light of a Dark Matter portal. The man was holding a long rifle in one hand, and with the other he gave her a casual wave like a Grand Master at a parade then diving through the portal before she could even get a single shot off. As she watched, the portal then fizzled and sputtered, going dark when it was finished with it's self destruction. Seeing there was nothing she could do about the assassin, Maas knelt next to Sandy who was still sitting up as her face paled and her blue eyes began to get unfocused; both of them struggling to take off her breast plate so that Maas could treat the wound. "Hell, that bullet went through my fucking armor like a hot knife through butter," Exclaimed Sandy in a slurred voice, further noting, "And look, that damn shot went right through me, in the same place as Kabule's shot did at Mt. Tam in the Pale Wars!" Sandy fell backwards, her big blues eyes staring at the sky before fluttering shut as she muttered before going unconscious, "In fact, EXACTLY the same spot where Kabule shot me... guess I won't have another scar then..." As Sargent Maas finished her battlefield dressing of Sandy's wound, she noticed something embedded in the inside of the back piece of Sandy's discarded armor. Leaning over, she picked the armor piece up, carefully pulling out a bullet with a clay red colored forefinger and thumb, then held it up to her golden eyes as she stared intently at the strange symbols etched there, as she reported over her hailer, "Commander Taffer, Captain Bell is down sir, and I have something here I think may be important for you to see." |
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Mar 1, 2016 18:00:52 GMT
"Why?" moaned Volodja mentally, falling to his knees and throwing his empty pistols to the ground by his side. "Why her? Why Kima? Why always the best and not the rest? I should be the one who took that bullet, not Sandy."
He looked around but his eyes didn't see anything but the red stain spreading on Sandy's tunic after the bullet hit her. His ears didn't caught any sounds except Sandy's slurred words. His mind was replaying the moment Sandy got hit. Time stopped for him. The world became static and only motion there was the slow motion picture of Sandy's fall to the ground. Volodja was succumbed into twilight zone of anxiety...
"Shock," stated Marcel calmly. "Guess I will try the old fashioned way to bring him out of it." He reached out his strong tanned hand and slapped Volodja on his cheek. No reaction. He slapped Volodja's cheek once more. Still no sign of life in his brown eyes. Marcel slapped him third time. And fourth. And fifth. He did not want to stop, because deep down his inner voice whispered: "Hit him again! Do it in public, so everyone could see him getting slapped!"
It was not about slapping Volodja out of his shock any more, although it was Marcel's intention at first, but it also gave him an opportunity to slap his main rival and get away with it, even if he did not admitted that...
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Post by Vo Kshaa on Mar 1, 2016 19:14:18 GMT
The rifle was not only brand new. The second remarkable thing was that it looked like a replica of Belle's Custom Bolter rifle. Vo furrowed his brow trying to process what that could mean, but the noise coming from the hill made him raise his eyes, only to see the crowd running down and away from the hill. He removed the sling from the rifle and crouched next to Allyn and Chase, finally bracing himself enough to look at her and touch her hand.  "I'm sorry I have to do this to you miss Allyn," he said tying her hands behind her back with the sling, "But I have a strict order to bring you to Taffer for questioning and I can't let you escape again. We're not going to hurt you unless you do some stupid thing again like trying to hit my friend or threaten him with the gun. So please stay calm and come with us to the roller. I really hope that if you didn't kill anyone, this will resolve quickly and happily for everyone. Besides, the crowd over there is up to no good so it's in your best interests to stay low and let us bring you to a safe place without anyone seeing you." He stood up and helped Teagan up. "Chase," he addressed his friend, "Take miss Allyn to our roller and start driving that way," — he pointed at a direction perpendicular to the prominent way the crowd took for their retreat — "We'll make detour and approach the landing spot from the other side. No need to start another fight especially with the unarmed woman on board. I'll take her motorcycle and catch up to you. The bike may hold something important for Taffer's investigation too." He started walking towards the bike but suddenly turned half-around and showed a thumb up to Chase, saying, "And I thought I was the main rush-into-ther-fray guy here!" |
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Post by Chase Lonehart on Mar 1, 2016 21:05:09 GMT
Chase couldn't believe that he had taken out a woman that looked like Belle. He began to wonder if maybe it was Belle and she had somehow been mentally hacked to believe she was someone else, or if maybe she was a clone. He even toyed around with the idea that it was some sort of unknown twin sister that Belle herself didn't know about. But he certainly wasn't going to allow for this to detract him from the task of getting her to Taffer.
As they made their way back the vehicles, Vo partly turned towards him and gave a thumbs up.
"And I thought I was the main rush-into-the-fray guy here!' Vo said with a bit of a chuckle.
"You were driving, so I had to improvise," Chase replied back.
Chase put his right hand on the woman's shoulder and began to lead her to the truck from behind her.
"I don't know who you are," Chase told her. "But you better not give me any reason to use my right arm again. I rather not have that, and I hope you agree as well."
He opened the passenger side door, swinging her around to the opening. As soon as she got in, he closed it, turning back towards Vo.
"Lead the way, good sir," he told the Irathient as he made his way around the front to get into the driver seat.
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Post by Taffer on Mar 1, 2016 21:50:42 GMT
"Don't you know that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity?" Marcel heard a voice whispering into his ear and Taffer emerged from cloak right next to him. "Enough of this!" Taffer said aloud this time, "Kaj, take Volodya back to the Riot. Lu, get ready to accept our wounded team mates on the ship. Attila, bring the Garilu as close to the hillside as you can and then get here yourself. And bring a couple of sticks please if you can find them. A pole, a pipe, an armature of a seat — anything, if it's long and sturdy, will do." After sending those short orders to his team members' communication devices, Taffer hurried to Sandy and Sargent Maas who was caring for her wound. First thing to do was checking the functionality of Sandy's EGO. He felt slightly relieved as Dash reported that Sarge is still on and busy working on healing Sandy. He put his hand on her belly to give share some nanites and energy with her EGO. Then he turned his attention to Sargent Maas and the bullet she found. It didn't take him too long to see and recognize the insignia on it. He took the scarf off his neck and quickly wrapped the bullet in the cloth, being careful not to touch it with bare skin. He put the wrapped bullet into his backpack and took a small bottle and another piece of cloth from it instead. Once he opened the cap, a strong smell of alcohol could be sensed from it.
"Clean your hands," He said pouring the contents from the bottle on a piece of cloth and handing it to Sargent, "The bullet can be poisoned. This is pure alcohol, not vodka or moonshine, so don't try to drink from it. We have more than enough injured already." Once it was done, he stood up and waved to Attila who was indeed carrying a pole and a rod he disassembled from a seat of the vehicle.
"Hand me your jacket please," Taffer asked as he removed his own one and added, seeing some hesitation from Attila, "I'll give it back to you soon with no damage, maybe only some dirt and blood stains, but I'll scour them out."
He put two rods through both jackets forming a makeshift litter out of them and with Attila's help they carefully put unconscious Sandy on it. Then they raised the litter from the ground and started their way to Riot. Taffer was silent during most of the way. Although he already had some thoughts on what it could mean, he wanted to wait for Vo and Chase to arrive first to see who they had captured.
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Post by Sandy Bell on Mar 1, 2016 22:53:24 GMT
"Sandy! Sandy! Captain Sandra Bell, attention!" Commanded Sarge, Sandy Bell's EGO psyche.
"Aw Sarge, I finally find a dry spot in this fucking trench and fall asleep, and you wake me up?' Replied Sandy groggily. "Are we going over the top already?"
"Wake up Sandy! Volodja is suffering an emotional melt down!" Sarge stated emphatically.
Sandy big blue eyes flashed open at the news, feeling the gentle rocking of the makeshift stretcher as Atilla and Taffer carried her on it to the Riot, so she tried to sit up to protest, but fell back again, pleading for her lover, "Volodja, honey, please come here! Please guys, let me get up! It's only a flesh wound... Volodja fucking needs me, " then added deliriously with a weak grin on her pale sweating face before passing out again, "I was an adventurer like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee... that's a joke guys..."
Meanwhile, Teagan Allyn was sitting in the back seat of the jammer truck where Chase Lonehart had placed her trying to figure out what happened. Her left eye hurt where he had gouged it and her hands were tied up behind her back. She vaguely remembered wrestling with him outdoors and him holding her arm painfully behind her back before he tied her hands. Before that, the last thing she remembered she was going into her personal office at the Ministry of Human Relations in Capital City to start the work day. She had in her hands a cup of coffee and her data pad which had the daily news on it. She sat down, kicking off her shoes under her desk, took a sip of coffee as she scrolled through the events of the day when her hailer rang. Teagan remembered answering her hailer in an officious way and...then... nothing. Teagan couldn't remember anything after answering her hailer up until Chase had gouged her eye!
"Who are you people? Why are you doing this to me? What do you want? Oh God, my eye hurts," Whined Teagan as she began to cry, her mascara running leaving dark trails as huge tears ran out of her blue diamond eyes and down her pale cheeks.
At the same time in a vault far below Defiance as she lie in state in an Omec sleep pod, Lena Marr played through yet another vintage video game in her mind, this time dressed in green elf-like garb and wearing a pointy hat. As Lena pulled the bloody sword out of Princess Zelda's lifeless body, she had a brief thought that maybe she should have stopped after killing the villainous endgame boss.
"Ummm..." Said Hope, her EGO psyche, hesitantly before asking, "Why DID you kill the princess?"
"I do all this work saving her ass, and what reward does she give me? She says, Thanks Link, You're the hero of Hyrule! Big drekking deal! Show me the money!" Answered Lena with a pout on her pretty Castithan face a second before the background scenery begins to swirl and change yet again.
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Post by Attila Constantine on Mar 2, 2016 0:22:09 GMT
Taffer said aloud this time, "Kaj, take Volodya back to the Riot. Lu, get ready to accept our wounded team mates on the ship. Attila, bring the Garilu as close to the hillside as you can and then get here yourself. And bring a couple of sticks please if you can find them. A pole, a pipe, an armature of a seat — anything, if it's long and sturdy, will do." After sending those short orders to his team members' communication devices, Taffer hurried to Sandy and Sargent Maas who was caring for her wound.
Kaj helped Volodja to his feet and escorted him to the Riot. Volodja still staring at nothing went with the Bio-man, as if on auto-pilot as he was still trapped in a state of shock. Kaj got Volodja back into the Riot and sat him in a chair. Not knowing if Volodja would hear and understand, Kaj said, "She is a soldier and knew the risks, as do you. However that also means that she is a fighter and will NOT give up, so we should not either. She would not want us to lose hope, when there is still some to have." Kaj then pulled out a canteen of water and put it to Volodja's lips, simply saying, "Drink."
Meanwhile Attila move the Garilu as close to the hillside, near Sandy and Taffer, as he could. Then after a quick look through the Garilu, Attila pulled apart a secondary seat that he figured wouldn't be needed at the moment. As he did so, he also found a small roll of twine. So he also grabbed that just incase they needed it for a binding. Then he left the Garilu.
As Attila walked to his teammates, Taffer stood up and waved to Attila who was indeed carrying a pole and a rod he disassembled from a seat of the vehicle.
"Hand me your jacket please," Taffer asked as he removed his own one. Attila hesitated as he glanced at Sandy, then at the Riot where his sister still was, then back at his jacket. Seeing Attila's hesitation, Taffer added "I'll give it back to you soon with no damage, maybe only some dirt and blood stains, but I'll scour them out."
Attila nodded and looked around to make sure they were currently safe. Then he removed his chest-plate of Volge engineer armor. Next he removed the short sleeved gray protective jacket that he wears under it (and that his sister had recently given him on their birthday, when she gave him the volge armor that he was currently wearing, for she thought it completed the ensemble and would also offer further protection, as she knew just how brash and reckless he could be). After handing the jacket to Taffer, Attila then put the armor back on over the plain tank-top that he wore under the jacket today.
 
Taffer put two rods through both jackets forming a makeshift litter out of them and with Attila's help they carefully put unconscious Sandy on it. Then they raised the litter from the ground and started their way to Riot. Taffer was silent during most of the way. Although he already had some thoughts on what it could mean, Taffer wanted to wait for Vo and Chase to arrive first to see who they had captured.
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Mar 2, 2016 7:04:49 GMT
Cultural texts are full of dramatic turning points (and their spoofs), a la "The Threepenny Opera" by Berthold Brecht where Macheath (aka "Mackie Messer"/"Mack the Knife") - London's greatest and most notorious criminal, is about to have his last walk towards gallows in the last act. Everything points towards it, until there will be a sudden and intentionally comical reversal where Peachum - boss of all beggars in London who is also responsible for getting Mackie behind bars soon to be hanged, announces that in this opera mercy will prevail over justice and that a messenger on horseback will arrive. And Police Chief of London and Mackie's best friend from their army days, Brown, arrives as that messenger and announces that Macheath has been pardoned by the queen and granted a title, a castle and a pension. The cast then sings the Finale, which ends with a plea that wrongdoing not be punished too harshly as life is harsh enough... Volodja's case was different kind - his beloved Sandy Bell and him finally found each other again in South America, after Sandy went missing in action and they managed to beat every difficulty, thrown at them. Together. Side by side. But after the grand finale in Cuzco where hordes of beggars and local mobsters attacked them, their friends and the Commando squad which was sent after them by some Big Kahuna in Votanis collective, but against all odds, they pushed them back, his Sandy was seriously wounded by the last shot of this battle. Made by anonymous sniper, who also made the first shot of that battle, killing Commander Kima, an honourable warrior who lead Commandos... The negative impact of that sudden event, which happened when everything seemed to be finally over in a good way, was the last straw to break Volodja for a moment, sending him into the Limbo of his own mind. He didn't felt Marcel's slaps on his face because he was sinking into the ocean of desperation. But Kaj's worried words penetrated through his self created armour and although they were weal and tired after that effort, they touched Volodja's soul and made him struggle against the non stopping nightmare where his beloved was stricken by bullet and he was incapable of doing anything to prevent it. If there was a hope, then he had to fight, no matter what. Just like several times before when he fought for her life and didn't gave up. It was just like struggling against the vortex of the sinking ship...You want to get back to the surface to breathe air again but you are pulled down by enormous force, getting deeper and deeper until you sink. You can give up and sink, but you can also try stand against it and make to the surface...Volodja struggled against the nightmare, until different kind of pictures and memories of Sandy started to appear - Sandy with er cup of Chicha Morada in Indian village...Sandy by his side in ruins of Macche Picchu...Sandy, giving Mapi - their local guide - a cheek kiss when their ways departed, Sandy... Pictures became stronger and sharper...They were more vivid, more coloured...The scene when Sandy was hit was black and white at the beginning, except that spreading red spot on her chest, but quantity and quality of colours and sounds increased when his nightmare was replaced with sweeter and positive images and memories of them together. So he fought back, clinging on those pictures and using them as a source of his own power to fight the fluxion which dragged him down...  After long fight he reached to the surface...and stopped for a moment having his head above the dark waters to catch air into his lungs just as sinker would. But he also knew that the struggle wasn't over yet..He was a sinker, but now he became a swimmer who had to head to the shore or at least find a rescue boat to avoid getting under the sea again...His mind found a shimmering light beam from a distant lighthouse of hope and he started to crawl towards it... ...Volodja's brown eyes became more lively when he opened his mind and said: "I will thank you later, Kaj. First I have to look after Sandy..." He walked out of their ship to meet men who were carrying Sandy on their improvised litter. "Gentler, gentlemen," he warned them with calm voice through his EGO link . "Use organized, steady and rhythmic walking style. March just like you were in in army, but a bit softer, if I may ask, because it rocks her less that way! The rhythm is most important here. Left! Right! Left!" He knew that his orders were unnecessary her, because they rocked her gently as possible, but at least he tried to be useful again, follow a purpose, concentrate and take care of his beloved girl in a way he could, by organising a march, so she could swing more softly on her litter as she was in the hammock, instead of rocking, when their friends carried her back to their ship...Just like it happened with him in one occasion, but that was whole different story and material for another flashback...His friend, Kaj, was still saying something to him, but Volodja swam towards ashore breaking the waves and struggling against the tide, dragging him back to the sea of hopelessness. Seeing Sandy carried in, he knew that he was closer to the shore but not there yet... |
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Post by Sandy Bell on Mar 2, 2016 8:20:30 GMT
Sandy Bell looked up from where she lay on the stretcher in the Riot with glazed blue eyes. She could see her true love, Volodja Uljanov, siting on a bench seat staring with unseeing brown eyes in a total shock as she struggled to sit up and tell him, "Hey there, I'm okay! I'm not going anywhere! You can't get rid of me that easily," but although her lips quivered in movement, no sound escaped them and she didn't move a whit. Sweat poured from her pale skin as she tried to get up yet again, but her muscles refused to cooperate. As Sandy coped with her inner struggle, she saw Kaj, the big purple bioman, say something to Volodja, and Volodja shook his head as if to shake the cobwebs out, his warm brown eyes regaining their focus. Sandy smiled and thought to herself, "Don't know what you said, but that's one I owe you big guy." Soon Volodja came over to her, looking down at her with concern as she struggled to say three words, finally succeeding in whispering to him, "I love you," before her fever induced delirium returned filling the room with butterflies before her blue eyes fluttered closed and she fell asleep again. "Sophie, please tell Volodja that Sandy will be fine," Said Sarge, Sandy's EGO psyche, to Volodja's, "The bullet missed all vital organs; in fact following the exact path of a previous Pale Wars injury. Although it took her weeks to recover from the wound that time, this time she has an EGO and, barring complications, she should be completely healed by morning. The bullet was covered in a poison, but it was a non-fatal one made to mimic the effects of a severe bout of the flu. With the help Commander Taffer's EGO gave me, that should be cleansed out of Sandy's system within the hour. I've given her a mild sedative because what she really needs now is rest. Speaking of Commander Taffer, I better give him a full report on what I found."  As this was occurring in the Riot, Sargent Maas checked on her men as they brought the dead commando's body into the Votan Collective's helicopter, laying it next to Commander's Kima's, then covering them both up with blankets. Sargent Maas avoided looking at her dead friend and commanding officer's body, knowing the time to grieve would come later after the bodies were returned to their tribe and prepared for the proper Irathient burial rituals. Now was the time for investigation, and Mass looked at the helicopter's doorway where Kima had been shot, tracing the trajectory of where she made an educated guess the bullet had gone. Sure enough, Maas found the bullet embedded in the helicopter's wall opposite the door. She stared at it with unblinking golden eyes before taking out her combat knife and handkerchief, then prying the bullet out of the wall, letting it drop into the cloth while being careful not to touch it as Taffer had warned. She looked at the bullet laying on the piece of cloth in her red clay colored hand, examining it from all sides as she confirmed that it too had the same etchings that the bullet that struck Sandy Bell had. After confirming her suspicions, Sargent Maas exited the helicopter to where Taffer stood directing the operations of his team, and with a grim look on her beautiful Irathient face, she handed him the handkerchief, bullet and all, asking in a matter of fact tone, "Another bullet for your collection - this time from Commander Kima - same as the other one from Captain Bell. Now, Commander Taffer, would you like to tell me what this is all about?" |
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Post by Chase Lonehart on Mar 2, 2016 11:42:45 GMT
"Who are you people?" Chase heard the woman in the back seat. "Why are you doing this to me? What do you want? Oh God, my eye hurts."
"We're members of the Paradise Protectors, out of San Francisco. We are doing this to you because you shot someone, you ran and you assaulted me. We want to know why and who you answer to. And be happy it's just an eye and that it'll eventually stop hurting. It could have been worse. Believe me, I know from personal experience that it could have. Right now, we're on our way to meet with our comrades because we've got questions. As long as you're honest with us, you have nothing to worry about. We're reasonable people. Not to mention, you look like one of our own that went missing."
She went to open her mouth, and Chase lifted his right hand up, his index finger pointing up to the ceiling.
"Look, I've got a bit of a headache from you hitting me the back of the head and a bit of a sore neck from you trying to choke me to death," Chase told her. "Any questions you have, please save them for when we get you to the others, please? I only have enough of a clear head to get us where the others are."
He wasn't lying to her, both his head and his neck were hurting him. And he could have killed her if he hadn't kept himself in check, recalling back to the Castithan whose head he bashed in when he thought Iri was dead and he had lost his mind. He never wanted to go back to that moment. After getting his sanity and memory back, it frightened him that he was capable of being that much of a horrible thing and capable of just killing someone so horrific and brutal. Chase was grateful that he had his faculties this time, as if this was Belle Starr who had been reprogrammed, then he avoided killing one of their own. He had been so willing to shoot near Belle's head when Iri had been taken from him. If it really was Belle, she probably would have been very upset if he had tried to kill him by hitting her with his right arm.
God, my head hurts, he thought to himself.
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