Aberrant: War Journal - WJ2: Day of Days

[BlueNinja]

Judy blinks as the klaxon comes on, and her long absense means it takes a moment for her to remember what that means. "Oh, shit!" She breaks into a full out run for a moment, then casts her hand down in front of her and leaps onto the skateboard she conjured, using it to make her way quickly back to the Trans-D breakroom - where her more reliable rifle is.

[Alex Green]

Bravo Mess Hall

When the alarms go off, for a moment everyone freezes; then all personnel rapidly get up and starting check their gear with a speed and efficency fueled by fear. Several off-duty warpers, wearing their personalized body armor, grab their helmets off the tables and start marching towards the warpfloor, ready to begin the evac if necessary.

Sarah sighs, quickly scanning her surroundings.

I've got to go, Vlad. I'll see you later, okay?

Without waiting for an answer, Sarah rises out of her seat and into empty space. Her hands seem to cut the air to ribbons as she flies at great speed...

To Sarah's back he yells, "Yes!" as he looks around for a ranking officer… (if none is present, he runs to the door and grabs his bag on the way out, then looks around for a ranking officer).

Upon finding such, he says,

"Sir: I'm MCHF Vlad, nova engineer, just transferred in and I don't have orders. Where do you want me?"

[tooho]

X4 C&C

Even as she listens to the message sent to her, Emma start's to feel it, too; an eye as big as the sky watching her with evil intent, the weight of its gaze like dry desert heat.

Emma taps her fingers idly on the console for a few seconds until the import of the message strikes her. Her eyes stare at the opposite wall for a few minutes while she collects her thoughts. She shivers for just a moment before pushing back from the desk. She looks around the room suspiciously, eyeing the room as though someone watches her, her body frozen as though about to attack. After collecting herself and reassuring herself with all her 'senses' nothing is monitoring her, she heads back to the Break Room.

“Captain, I need to report a bit of a… problem. It seems the shit has hit the fan and it might be blowing our way.” Turning a chair across from him backwards, she slides into it facing him. Her blue eyes seem shadowed though she begins talking in a strong, straightforward manner.

“It seems a coup has begun in the Intelligence community. Ex-DAD operatives have gone missing after a sub-pulse broadcast at 300 hours today titled ‘P Red.’ They’ve vanished and those of us left behind have no access to research other than the normal mumbo-jumbo. It looks like DAD has inacted ‘Protocol Red.’ The only thing I know about it is from my source. Supposedly, ‘Protocol Red’ was just encrypted gossip on the Green Screen and the only clue about it is a file called ‘Long Con.’ It’s an empty file but seems it appears all over the network.”

Shaking her head sadly, she looks apologetic. “I’m sorry I don’t know more. I’m going to try to contact Lieutenant Wheeler to see if he’s been neutralized. Maybe he’s found out more, if he isn’t dead. Whether the operatives left on their own or were taken, this sneak attack leaves us flying blind in a way. I realize no one likes a spook, but we keep our side ahead of the fight. Without that access, we're ten steps behind Joe and Blue. Is there any chance any of you have you ever heard of Protocol Red or the ‘Long Con?'”

[Heritage]

X4 Break Room:

Colby, Delacroix, Griffin and Epstein all listen with growing alarm as Emma reveals these distrubing new developments; when she's finished, the captain rubs his jaw.

I haven't heard of either those, but they're most likely spook stuff - if you haven't heard of them, lieutenant, I am inclined to think this is very bad.

He stands abruptly and whips his newspaper across the room, where it flies to pieces against the opposite wall.

Goddamn spooks! Sorry, no offense, Majors.

After a few moments of thought, he comes to a decision.

F@ck it, I ain't taking no chances - we gear up and put the base on full alert until we know what the f@ck is going on. Lt. Griffin, get this base up on its feet, then get on the horn, find out what you can from Battalion. Majors, you hit the monitors with our enlisted men, see if there's anything going on in our neighborhood. Colby and Epstein, suit up and assemble in C&C - you have exactly three minutes.

He strides purposefully for the door.

Now I gotta get some damn pants on.

As he leaves the break room, he idly flips open a Red Box on the wall and slaps the alarm without breaking stride; orange lights start flashing in the ceiling and a two-tone buzzer starts blaring over the PA. Colby and Epstein race out of the room, the Scout's pajamas shifting to a trim black bodysuit as she moves.

[Heritage]

Battalion HQ, the Well

Very faintly, Havoc can hear what sounds like Klaxxons from somewhere up the shaft, followed by the disembodied voice of Wilcox.

What the f@ck is that shit? Hold on, chief, just gonna check it out real quick.

Through the walls of the shaft, Havoc can feel a slight vibration, and it's getting stronger...

[Heritage]

"I don't care about them, Doc. How long do we have, and what's gonna happen when it hits? Can you tell?"

←

Apparently frustrated herself, Vanderlay snaps back.

I don't know what it is! Not exactly. Telepaths, possibly dozens of them, working together like a battery, amplifying each other - with that much power, you could do a lot of damage, and all I know for sure is they're just warming up!

[Asbjørn]

Apparently frustrated herself, Vanderlay snaps back.

I don't know what it is! Not exactly. Telepaths, possibly dozens of them, working together like a battery, amplifying each other - with that much power, you could do a lot of damage, and all I know for sure is they're just warming up!

Hood only nods in response, satisfied that the pandoran has done her best.

"That's good enough, Doc. Now let's go. Amy! Get on the horn to Winz and tell him what's going on!"

Shouting the last order to Turlow over his shoulder, the scout pulls Vanderlay along down the corridor towards C&C. Passing Judy at an insane pace he yells at her in passing

"Judy! Get your gear and get on my six. C&C!"

Ducking and weaving between the personnel that are filling the corridors, Hood's mind is working overtime all the way.

"Doc? Help me think here. A telepath attack means mind control or brain damage, right? If it's mind control, we should evacuate and scatter to minimize damage, but what other defenses are there?"

They finally reach C&C, bursting through the door behind Nomad. Turning immediately to the officer, he skips the salute and rapidly explains

"Second Lieutenant Hood, Scouts. I ordered the alarm. There's a massive incoming telepathic attack, possibly state-wide. I suggest you get a hold of colonel Pritzlaff right now, cause this is bad. Sir."

[BlueNinja]

"Judy! Get your gear and get on my six. C&C!"

"What the hell do you think I'm doing?" she shouts back at him as she skids to a stop, snaps her sniper rifle together and snatches up a bandolier of extra clips, then starts charging after him. "Gorram nobs."

[Grizzly]

X4 Break Room

"I'll never understand why our sorrows more often lead us to learn more about ourselves while our joys seem fleeting and easily forgotten. But then, maybe thats just a little quirk the powers that be decided to play on us. No one is at fault for what happened, Griff. I'd not be surprised to find we'll see them again. Weirder things have been known to happen. Just look at us. All the things each of us has been through and we still fight the good fight and come home in a moderately good state. In the meantime, what's the new ability? Can you touch your nose with your tongue? Does webbing shoot from your fingers? Ooh, I know. You can fly!"

Griffin laughs when Emma starts to joke.

"No tongue-thing and no webbing, and the ability to fly was already in the starter-package ::devil ."

Somewhat more serious he continues.

"It´s not quite like that, loosing some of those few friends I still have hurts like hell. But those new abilities had been rumaging in my head for some time by now. I think it started shortly before we made that trip into the badlands but now I am able to control it. It´s a kind of odd feeling. Analysing tactical datas and situations comes even more easier than before. I worked on some tactical scenarios I had solved some time ago but when I go through them now it´s so easy and the outcome for the "enemy" gets even worse than before. Rational thinking is easier than before, too."

Half smiling she turns as she hears Chambers message. "Don't think we're done, buddy. I better go take that. Once a spook always a spook."

"We´ll see about that" ::wink

When Emma walks out of the room, Griffin drains his cup and quickly makes him some sandwiches and starts chewing.

"F@ck it, I ain't taking no chances - we gear up and put the base on full alert until we know what the f@ck is going on. Lt. Griffin, get this base up on its feet, then get on the horn, find out what you can from Battalion. Majors, you hit the monitors with our enlisted men, see if there's anything going on in our neighborhood. Colby and Epstein, suit up and assemble in C&C - you have exactly three minutes."

"Right away, Captain!"

Griffin starts running into the C&C, changing to Nova form, his Eufiber shifts simultaneously into a full BDU. ::ninja

At the C&C he takes the Intercom and push the button "All Stations". ::cursing

"We are on Red Alert! This is not a drill! All personel gear up and report at C&C. Support personal makes status report about base condition. Secure reactor, T-Port and all base entrances." ::getsome

Taking a seat at the Green screen he starts calling the HQ, asking for information about that incomming attack.

(ooc: Griff takes all data so far and starts to analyse the tactical situation, integrating all incomming data into that analysis, too.)

[Heritage]

X4

"We are on Red Alert! This is not a drill! All personel gear up and report at C&C. Support personal makes status report about base condition. Secure reactor, T-Port and all base entrances." ::getsome

After Griffin makes his announcement, there's a crackle of static over the PA, followed by the voice of Jubersky, who has never sounded more calm or lucid.

I'm afraid there's a problem, sir...an override, if you will. I've welded myself into the reactor and rigged the door with thirty pounds of C-4, and I'm not exactly sure why - I think it has something to do with releasing plasma out of the reactor and killing everyone in the base, but I'm waiting on further instructions. ::ohmy

[Heritage]

Bravo Warpfloor

To Sarah's back he yells, "Yes!" as he looks around for a ranking officer… (if none is present, he runs to the door and grabs his bag on the way out, then looks around for a ranking officer).

Upon finding such, he says,

"Sir: I'm MCHF Vlad, nova engineer, just transferred in and I don't have orders.  Where do you want me?"

←

On the warpfloor, Vlad finds an older T&S man with captain's bars attempting to control what is in danger of becoming a panicked mob; he seems to be just short of blowing a gasket.

Can you believe this shit? What's the point of putting 'em through basic if they're just gonna collapse under pressure!

Finally registering Vlad, he indicates the southern t-port station with a jerk of his head.

Help those Engineers secure the t-port - these nimrods are in danger of stampeding, and we can't have them rushing the ports.

Bravo Family Center

Hawthorne deftly navigates the crowd and makes it to the Med Ward, where the medics, unsure of the nature of the threat, are preparing for the worst - all available beds are ready, instruments and supplies are close at hand, and the staff are scrubbing up. She leads Rourke down a short hallway to a most incongrous sight: a nursery and childrens' dormitory at the heart of an underground military base. There are perhaps twenty children between the ages of five and thirteen here, and the alarms have the poor things terrified; most of them are cowering in their bunks, though a few are nervously darting about the room or huddled in a corner.

I have no idea if you're any good with children, Mr. Rourke, but I doubt I'll be able to grab anyone else. Here, help me get them dressed in case we have to move them.

As she attempts to calm the children, a young girl in an oversize t-shirt steps over to the large scruffy man; there's a black-and-yellow bracelet of some kind on her wrist. Somehow, she is much calmer than the others; she looks up at Rourke with a very determined expression.

Bertie Bee says I have to find Daddy; he says a lot of people are going to get hurt, and I need to find my daddy and hide.

Bravo, Cobra Mustering Area

Not far from the C&C or Trans-D dorm, Sarah finds her ugly fireplug of a CO, Captain Calvin Rimmer, berating the rest of her unit as they sit on the ready bench; Rimmer's head has almost completely sunk between his shoulders into a sea of dense muscles, and the veins on his forehead are as fat as pencils. Spotting Sarah, his eyes practically pop out of his head and his stubby arms swing violently from side to side.

Where the f@ck have you been, meat?! First f@ckin' chance at some action in a week and you're out gettin' wet over some locals!

He wheels around and returns to shouting at his team.

I don't know what's goin' on, you pack of inbred sissies, but we sure as f@ck are gettin' a piece of it! Armor up if you can, get the juice flowin' and be ready to dance on the back of Joe's skull! Snake eyes!

Snake eyes!

F@ckin' hell yeah! Weapons live and ready to rock and roll!

Rock and roll!

[archer]

I have no idea if you're any good with children, Mr. Rourke, but I doubt I'll be able to grab anyone else. Here, help me get them dressed in case we have to move them.

As she attempts to calm the children, a young girl in an oversize t-shirt steps over to the large scruffy man; there's a black-and-yellow bracelet of some kind on her wrist. Somehow, she is much calmer than the others; she looks up at Rourke with a very determined expression.

Bertie Bee says I have to find Daddy; he says a lot of people are going to get hurt, and I need to find my daddy and hide.

Unable to stop a smile at the young girl's serious expression and demeanor, Rourke kneels down and looks at her face to face. He speaks to her normally, as he would to an adult. He'd never understood the need for baby talk. "Well then, little one, we'll make sure to find your daddy just as soon as we can. And I think Bertie Bee is right about people getting hurt. You heard all those alarms going off?" He waits for her nod, then continues. "Those alarms mean something bad is happening, and I need to help that lady," he glances at Dr. Hawthorne, "get all of you youngsters together somewhere safe. Now, I'm afraid I don't know all your friends here, and I think they might get scared to come with me because they don't know me. But maybe if you introduced me to them, maybe that would help."

He grins, and holds out his hand for a shake. "My name is Rourke. And I promise to get you to your daddy as soon as we move all your friends somewhere they'll be safe. Would you mind helping me with that?"

[phoenix]

Where the f@ck have you been, meat?! First f@ckin' chance at some action in a week and you're out gettin' wet over some locals!

I'll get you wet you fat son-of-a- "Sir, I'm very sorry, sir!"

Sarah's feminine voice sounds very raw in the half-scream of the formal reply, but everyone present knows from experience that she can keep it up for quite a while without giving in. With that, she joins the rest of the assembled company of semi-demonic Cobras.

She ignores the "juice up" command, in favor of not ruining the base and her entire company's weapons - for now, anyway. Instead, she picks up her assigned Bulldog and loads it and turns it on.

[OOC: Or something.. my personal Firearms training sort of petered out at nailing milk cartons with a rifle on the farm I was raised on, so forgive my lack of familiarity with the old MG-5000.. ::tongue ]

[Alex Green]

Bravo Warpfloor

,,

On the warpfloor, Vlad finds an older T&S man with captain's bars attempting to control what is in danger of becoming a panicked mob; he seems to be just short of blowing a gasket.

Can you believe this shit? What's the point of putting 'em through basic if they're just gonna collapse under pressure!

Finally registering Vlad, he indicates the southern t-port station with a jerk of his head.

Help those Engineers secure the t-port - these nimrods are in danger of stampeding, and we can't have them rushing the ports.

Vlad nods and as he walks over to the southern t-port, he transforms into stone.

Reaching the other side, he tosses his bag to a wall (he’d armed himself from it on the way over), and bellows,

Everyone remain calm! There is a mountain, a mountain I helped build, between us and anything bad that can happen!

You WILL remain claim! You WILL remember your training. You WILL obey orders, and CALMLY walk to the station!

[Heritage]

OOC note: For those who are new, this post replaces a series of posts lost during a system crash.

September 24, 2056 0545 Hours. Washington State

The Greens are under attack, but the full scale of it is hard to grasp; here's what is known:

Base X4, 8th Battalion

- Senior Specialist Kyle Jubersky has welded himself into the base reactor room and wired the heavy steel door with 30 pounds of plastic explosives; he claims to be receiving some sort of orders, and thinks he supposed to release plasma from the hyperfusion reactor to kill every one in the base.

8th Battalion Headquarters

- Battalion HQ is under attack, possibly by members of the 'Bloody 7th' Battalion wearing ski masks; what motivated this mysterious attack? Before he died from his injuries, CPL Wilcox sprayed prisoner Havoc with adrenocilin in the depths of the Well, so at least he could go down fighting.

Warpstation Bravo, 10th Battalion

- Dr. Katherine Vanderlay of Project Pandora sensed an imminent telepathic of massive scale; LT Hood's decision to put the base on full alert has lead to a certain amount of panic, which is rather unusual for a well-trained paramilitary force, but it's unclear if they are related. Some novas could also feel the psychic threat.

- Two cruise missiles, most likely Tomahawks, are heading towards WS Bravo from the northeast; Tomahawks can carry a wide variety of payloads, up to and including tactical nukes, so their potency is unknown.

,,

Statewide

- Mere moments ago, a powerful and deadly 'pulse' covered the entire state of Washington, painfully killing all novas in the area that possessed warping or teleportation abilities. The cerebral hemorrhaging did not distinguish between young or old, soldier or civilian, and finished its bloody work in just over thirty seconds.

(OOC: Let me know if I missed anything)

[BlueNinja]

Running into the C&C behind Hood, Judy is in time to hear some of the talk about the incoming telepathic attack and what it means. "Um, sir? I'm not in practice on actually firing a SAM, but I do have some mental blocking abilities, and I can at least make sure they stay in working order - you know, no sabotage, that sort of thing." She seems about to say more, then suddenly clutches at her temples and sags against the wall for a moment. "Holy shit, what was that?"

[tooho]

X4 C&C

Emma's blue eyes widen as she hears Jubersky. "Damnit, should have realized. He's so anti-social. I thought it was a personality trait. Jubersky, what do you mean 'waiting for orders?' Are you hearing voices?"

Looking to Griff, she motions back towards the reactor and whispers quietly, "I need to see him. All I need is line of sight and maybe I can find out what's going on."

[ezekiel]

The well

Havoc looked up the shaft as the grogginess seeped away from his body.

"Wilcox? Wilcox!? "

Could the 7th really have betrayed the 8th? A few men perhaps but not a whole battalion...

The large nova crouched down and jumped up the shaft; his agility belying his bulk as he flipped upside down as he exited the shaft, hitting the ceiling a split second later. With a push of his legs he sommersaulted back to the floor of the room in a squat, searching his surroundings...

[Alex Green]

Out in the field, an anonymous clone of Mike slumps over dead. Usually it’d take an hour before his corpse faded away, this time it’s gone before he hits the ground.

[Heritage]

WS Bravo:

C&C

From the hallway leading from the officers' quarters lumbers Col Pritzlaf, 6' 2" with lots of muscle under a layer of flab; his pock-marked face is surprisingly youthful, and his thin blonde beard is unconvincing. The colonel's hair sticks straight up, he's pulling a BDU jacket on over an olive green T-shirt and sweatpants, and he's still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, but somehow he still manages to command respect. Pritzlaf has a reputation for fairness, careful deliberation followed by swift action, and an almost uncanny ability to visualize distant battlefields based on a small amount of data. He has three known vices: Canadian beer, cherry pipe tobacco and speed chess. His nickname among his troops is 'Pritz'.

Lt. Grimsby, what's our status?

The first lieutenant snaps to attention, as does everyone in the room.

Sir, we are under attack; two missiles are bearing down on us from the north-east and we've just endured some sort of telepathic assault. There seems to be panic on the warpfloor, and it's getting ugly real fast. Lt Hood sounded the alarm, based upon some sort of warning from this psychic woman.

He indicates the doctor with a nod. The colonel grunts as he fetches pipe and pouch from a jacket pocket.

I don't like missiles, lieutenant - get our Cobras out there now.

Yes, sir!

Grimsby gets on the PA.

Attention, attention. All Cobras to the surface for immediate bogey intercept, north-east. Cobras to intercept, north-east.

As he lights up his pipe, Pritz pierces Hood with his bright blue eyes, which almost seem to twinkle.

The black baggers, eh? You're all supposed be the best of the best, or whatnot.

He notices Vanderlay in her blue-black jumpsuit, trying to hold her neckline closed, and takes a puff off his pipe, wreathing his head in smoke.

Interesting.

He swivels back to Hood.

Get your people on the floor and find out what happened, lieutenant - assign your 'baggers' as you see fit, get them on cleanup or what have you, and then report back to me ASAP. No drama, no tears, just bring me facts.

Back to Grimsby.

Get me everything you have, every audio and video file from every monitor inside or outside this base.

Cobra Mustering Area

Attention, attention. All Cobras to the surface for immediate bogey intercept, north-east. Cobras to intercept, north-east.

This brings a triumphant cheer from the assembled Cobras as well as their leader; Cap'n Rimmer pumps his stubby arm in the air.

Yeah! Yeah! Let's f@ckin' do this! All of you, on me!

He shoulders his own weapon and starts to hustle his way down the hallway towards the northeast entrance by the T&S motor pool; he's doesn't check to see if he's being followed, and he appears to be either oblivious to or uninterested in the increasingly agitated crowd on the warpfloor as he trudges past, barking out a Cobra cadence.

I don't know I could be wrong!

I don't know I could be wrong!

Little Scout p@ssy don't last too long!

Little Scout p@ssy don't last too long!

I don't know but I hear tell!

I don't know but I hear tell!

Cobra p@ssy is tough as hell!

Cobra p@ssy is tough as hell!

Family Center

The sudden and very painful death has upset the poor children horribly - Blinker was one of their friends, and they have no idea how or why he died. Dr. Hawthorne was able to get a free nurse from the med ward to come and help out, but it's not having the desired effect. The children have stopped packing and getting dressed - most of them are cringing near the walls, or sitting in the middle of the floor crying. The girl who spoke to him earlier is still hanging around Rourke, as though instinctively drawn to his strength; she watches silently as the small body, wrapped in a white sheet, is carried from the room.

Warpfloor, South T-Port

The assembled servicemen and women gaze in shock as their dead teammates are carried into the med ward; a young Asian woman with a purple mohawk is zipped into a bodybag, and an emotional mule has to be restrained as he screams incoherently after her corpse. A handful of 10th Battalion riflemen stand around the perimeter of the warpfloor, keeping a watchful eye as the klaxons keep blaring and everyone waits for new evac orders.

[Heritage]

The well

Havoc looked up the shaft as the grogginess seeped away from his body.

"Wilcox? Wilcox!? "

Could the 7th really have betrayed the 8th? A few men perhaps but not a whole battalion...

The large nova crouched down and jumped up the shaft; his agility belying his bulk as he flipped upside down as he exited the shaft, hitting the ceiling a split second later. With a push of his legs he sommersaulted back to the floor of the room in a squat, searching his surroundings...

←

There is blood and Wilcox everywhere; the small security room at the top of the shaft was clearly hit by an explosive charge or grenade, and the mortally wounded corporal had to drag himself across the floor back to the control station, where bloody fingerprints tell a grim tale of determination. Next to the terminal lies the rest of Wilcox, who no longer exists below the waist, his gray face now peaceful.

The shattered door to the main hallway hangs open, and an eerie silence hangs in the air.

[BlueNinja]

WS Bravo:

C&C

He swivels back to Hood.

Get your people on the floor and find out what happened, lieutenant - assign your 'baggers' as you see fit, get them on cleanup or what have you, and then report back to me ASAP. No drama, no tears, just bring me facts.

Judy pulls herself together, clicks the safety on her rifle back on, and falls into step behind Hood. She's all about not being noticed by the brass, and he's clearly Brass.

[archer]

The sudden and very painful death has upset the poor children horribly - Blinker was one of their friends, and they have no idea how or why he died. Dr. Hawthorne was able to get a free nurse from the med ward to come and help out, but it's not having the desired effect. The children have stopped packing and getting dressed - most of them are cringing near the walls, or sitting in the middle of the floor crying. The girl who spoke to him earlier is still hanging around Rourke, as though instinctively drawn to his strength; she watches silently as the small body, wrapped in a white sheet, is carried from the room.

Struggling to maintain his grasp on reality, Rourke looks the girl directly in the eyes and focuses. The blizzard's snow parts, and he sees only her.

"It'll be okay, darlin'. It'll be okay." Picking her up in one arm, he tucks her against his chest and starts to move around the room, starting in the middle. He gestures at the other children with his free arm. "Come on, kids. I'm going to take every single one of you somewhere safe. I promise."

He moves quietly, and speaks gently as he approaches each child. "It'll be okay." He offers his big hand for them to cling to, and nods at the doctor and nurse, silently indicating for them to do the same.

((OOC: Spending WP if needed to fight off certain flaws, and using Rapport to try to help talk to the kids and gain their trust.))

[Grizzly]

X4 C&C

Emma's blue eyes widen as she hears Jubersky. "Damnit, should have realized. He's so anti-social. I thought it was a personality trait. Jubersky, what do you mean 'waiting for orders?' Are you hearing voices?"

Looking to Griff, she motions back towards the reactor and whispers quietly, "I need to see him. All I need is line of sight and maybe I can find out what's going on."

"Try to get a glimpse of him through that small porthole in the blast-door, Emma ::wink . Try to convince him to disarm the explosives and to secure the reactor again. He could be remote controled or something like this through his implants. I believe that´s not him who want to destroy the base.

If that isn´t possible we had to blast through that door to get him before he blows the whole base into orbit."

Griffin´s eyes go blank for a second, staring right through Emma. Then he snaps back and his voice has a little odd tone.

"Analysis of current situation: Setting off those 30 punds of C-4 at the blast-door of the reactor room will kill everybody in that room and will breach the water tanks, the reactor could be damaged, too. There will be massive destruction in the C&C, too. This would leave the base crippled but repairable, operating on emergency backup batteries for some time. If the reactor isn´t repairable the base will shortly become uninhabitable due to lack of air. Damage reduction could be done by opening the blast door to the shaft up to the observation point, giving the blast a free way to dissipate and sealing off every other door." ::ohmy

"Destroying the magnetic bottle of the reactor will destroy the water tanks and everything else in the reactor room, releasing a lethal blast of superheated steam through the whole base, killing everyone still in here. Damage reduction possibilities: None, the blast will be too strong to be contained or fully diverted."

::nuclear

"Advise: Immediate evacuation of all personel through tunnel C, every blast door in tunnels A and B must be opened to divert the blast away, every blast-door in C has to be closed after all personnel is evacuated. Suggest to take the bikes from A and B to speed up evacuation through tunnel C."

[Alex Green]

WS Bravo:

Warpfloor, South T-Port

The assembled servicemen and women gaze in shock as their dead teammates are carried into the med ward…

Vlad swallows heavily… and thinks

*What the…? I don’t feel anything.*

{Activating: Elemental Earth: Movement}

*My powers still work. I could leave.*

He looks around but doesn’t actually see anything wrong… or at least nothing he could run away from.

*Maybe later; Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. *

a young Asian woman with a purple mohawk is zipped into a bodybag, and an emotional mule has to be restrained as he screams incoherently after her corpse. A handful of 10th Battalion riflemen stand around the perimeter of the warpfloor, keeping a watchful eye as the klaxons keep blaring and everyone waits for new evac orders.

He glances at the local commanding officer as to say ‘Now what’… and then he continues talking,

“My powers are still working fine. I can dig all of us out of here if I have to.” (Vlad seems to mentally shake himself and he continues..)

“Any Warpers still around? No? Then I guess we’ll have to wait for them to open the gate on their end.”

[phoenix]

Chanting the cadence fondly, Sarah bounces through the air behind her superior officer, restraining her mad desire to fly as fast as she can to intercept. All in good time.

[Asbjørn]

As he lights up his pipe, Pritz pierces Hood with his bright blue eyes, which almost seem to twinkle.

The black baggers, eh? You're all supposed be the best of the best, or whatnot.

Hood makes no comment, leaving it to the CO to make up his own mind about him. To his sped up senses, though, the colonel's calm approach to the situation seems a complete waste of time, and the scout finds himself alert and looking for any sign of violence or hostile action in the people around him.

Get your people on the floor and find out what happened, lieutenant - assign your 'baggers' as you see fit, get them on cleanup or what have you, and then report back to me ASAP. No drama, no tears, just bring me facts.

"Gotcha."

Hood gives the colonel a brief nod before turning on his heel and hurrying off, the other baggers in tow. Brushing past the other base personnel filling the hallways at an insane pace, he - and the equally sped up Nomad and Doc Vanderlay - reach the warpfloor in seconds, with Judy coming up behind.

The scout stops briefly by the entrance, getting an overview of the area and assessing the damage done to personnel, equipment and morale before deciding on a course of action.

[Heritage]

X4 C&C

As Griffin starts running through scenarios, the rest of the base personnel return to the command center, geared up and ready to roll. Delacroix's eyes widen as he listens to Griff's assessment, both impressed by his observations and the extreme gravity of the situation.

What the hell do they even need me here for? ::rolleyes Alright, Majors, start talking to Jubersky, see if you can help him beat this thing; Griffin, get on the Path and check the monitors, make sure the world is safe outside; everyone else, hit the storage room and grab whatever loose gear or ammo you can safely carry - you have thirty seconds to stuff your pockets, then your ass is in tunnel C. Make sure to grab those gumbies, too; the more wheels you got, the better chance you have. The second I give you the okay, you make like Lance Armstrong and pedal your asses off. Are we all clear?

Yes, sir!

In a rapid but orderly fashion, the enlisted men and women race to the storage area and start grabbing gear: Colby slings a .22 hunting rifle over her shoulder (bringing her total number of firearms to an alarming four) and grabs two boxes of cartridges and some arrows for her hunting bow, Chambers and Daniels grab the two remaining shotguns and some boxes of shells, and Epstein forms pouches all over her eufiber to hold as many pistol clips as she can tuck away. Mortimer is delighted to find the anti-tank laser right where he left it, odds and ends of miscellaneous gear are stuffed into any remaining pockets, and the three gumby bikes are hauled out into the C&C and quickly unfolded.

[Heritage]

WS Bravo, East Tunnel

The Cobra squad reaches the main tunnel, running past the motor pool where T&S mechanics are prepping their small fleet of booze-burning pickups and 4x4's for a run outside; the frantic mechanics are too busy to do more than look up or nod as the quatum-fueled tanks rumble on past. The twenty-foot wide tunnel is dotted every thirty feet by dull red lights that seems to trail on forever; thinking quickly, Rimmer starts barking into his Path, even though he doesn't need to speak out loud to broadcast.

Dammit, get that door open - I've got flyers here that need to spread their f@cking wings!

Far down the tunnel, a thin slit of pre-dawn sky is seen and a blast of cold mountain comes rushing into the base, hitting the squad smack in the face. Rimmer starts dancing around like a squat little madman, his stubby arms flailing wildly.

Goddamn you f@ckers, fly! "Fly, my pretties, fly!"

With whoops of delight, several of the Cobras take to the air and hurl themselves down the tunnel towards the outside, clutching their weapons in eager anticipation of the fight to come.

[phoenix]

Goddamn you f@ckers, fly! "Fly, my pretties, fly!"

With whoops of delight, several of the Cobras take to the air and hurl themselves down the tunnel towards the outside, clutching their weapons in eager anticipation of the fight to come.

Sarah nods coolly at Rimmer, then explodes into the air, hurtling towards the source of the cool air. As she flies, it looks like her already hot body is actually beginning to give off steam. Water forming beads all over her skin, Sarah clenches her fist as she keeps flying, letting out the Cobra battle cry in her Mighty Mighty Bosstones, gargle-with-broken-glass-in-your-mouthwash-every-morning raised voice.

Snake eyes!

From the perspective of Rimmer and the other Cobras, she seems completely transparent for a split second before she bursts into the light of day.

On the outside, a monumental column of steaming water erupts into the cool air, hanging there in defiance of gravity and everything else, before following after the other Cobras with a dull roar.

[Grizzly]

What the hell do they even need me here for? Alright, Majors, start talking to Jubersky, see if you can help him beat this thing; Griffin, get on the Path and check the monitors, make sure the world is safe outside; everyone else, hit the storage room and grab whatever loose gear or ammo you can safely carry - you have thirty seconds to stuff your pockets, then your ass is in tunnel C. Make sure to grab those gumbies, too; the more wheels you got, the better chance you have. The second I give you the okay, you make like Lance Armstrong and pedal your asses off. Are we all clear?

"Yes, Sir!"

"Could somebody grab my belongings and drop it here on your way?"

Griffin grabs himself Umberto6 and sling him on. After initialising contact he starts to ask HQ for new informations. At the same time he starts to work on the monitor station, rapidly cycling through the camera channnels and sensor readings to find out what´s going on outside.

[tooho]

X4 C&C

Emma's moving as soon as Delacroix gives her orders. Jogging quickly up the Northeast corridor she listens to the others evacuating as she nears the welded door of the base reactor room. Stopping before the door, she searches it thoroughly to assess how bothersome trying to open it would be. Hitting the intercom, she calls softly, "Jubersky, can we talk?"

If and or when the telepath can see him she tries to reach into his mind surreptiously.

[Alex Green]

Bravo Warpfloor (South)

Vlad tries to judge whether his 'crowd' is close to a panicky riot... and he also looks to see what the Captain is doing.

[ezekiel]

8th Battalion Headquarters

There is blood and Wilcox everywhere; the small security room at the top of the shaft was clearly hit by an explosive charge or grenade, and the mortally wounded corporal had to drag himself across the floor back to the control station, where bloody fingerprints tell a grim tale of determination. Next to the terminal lies the rest of Wilcox, who no longer exists below the waist, his gray face now peaceful.

The shattered door to the main hallway hangs open, and an eerie silence hangs in the air.

This wasn't the first time Havoc had seen comrades die but for the 8th to have been taken without warning...there must've been blue turncoats within the 8th. His thick, scarred, skin bulged as anger welled up within him. With an amazing burst of speed Havoc shot through the doorway, barely visible as he silently sped across to the opposite wall in the hallway and crouched with his back to it...

Carnage...

There were bodies in various stages of death...some dessicated, some burnt...soldiers all, many of them known to Havoc. Walls were sprayed with blood and an ozone smell betrayed the use of lasers if the scorch marks across walls and furniture weren't enough.

Silence...

Everywhere he could see was death and the silence was disturbing. There were bound to be some killers left in the base. Havoc observed the security lockers to his right across the hall. In a split second he was in front of the leftmost locker and his fist slammed through the reinforced door.

Crash!

With a tug the door came off its hinges, the loud noise echoing through the corridors. Wrong one...With his left hand he tore the door off of his right arm and slammed his fist in the next one. Wrong one again...Frustration built up. He smashed through the rest of the lockers in mere seconds and as Murphy would have it, he found what he was looking for in the last one. Shrugging the locker doors off of his arms he reached in and his eufiber suit oozed over his arms, covering his body with a ripple. A green and white mask covers his face (think Spawn with the Greens' colors instead of red, white and black and with no cape) and his head is covered in dozens of small spikes making the 2m hulking giant look particularly mean. An "8" is stamped in brown over his heart and shoulders.

Silence...

Havoc turned around and looked at the squad of Havocs before him in their Eights uniform. Each had a subnumber below 8 on their uniform going from 2 through 6. There was no need to talk, they all new the plan that had been formulated. Three groups of 2 splitting up, squadmate 1 doing sonar scans to avoid any surprises while squadmate 2 was slighty ahead reporting in to other squadmate 2s. Group B would head west towards Intel while Groups A and C burst towards Command, A continuing north to see if the commander had survived in his quarters while C ran towards Engineering...

[Heritage]

Bravo Warpfloor

It almost seems like a dream; Hood, Vanderlay and Nomad slide effortlessly between the rest of the base personnel, who seem to drift past like heaving cattle, their voices drunkenly slurred almost beyond recognition.

On the floor, the last of the bodies are being rushed out of the way by medics. Engineers in the t-port control booths are frantically monitoring radio chatter, trying to find somewhere safe to send their comrades. Vlad and a few others on guard duty have so far kept anyone from rushing the transporters.

Two senior RA officers are dividing their troops into teams of ten and sending them back to their bunks for their gear, one group every thirty seconds; the first groups have already returned, and are queing up by the motor pool waiting to catch a lift on an outgoing booze burner. There are five pickups, two 4x4's and three hatchbacks revving up for a run down the eastern tunnel, right on the Cobras' heels; any space that isn't taken up by weapons or a soldier is crammed full of ethanol tanks, hot death just waiting for a chance to blow. The hatchbacks have no rear doors, just a weapon mount welded to the frame for tailgunner duty. The inside walls are lined with spare Kevlar vests and all windows are covered with chain link.

By Transport and Supply, a pudgy blonde master chief is handing out 'care packages' of food, ammo, weapons and supplies that his crew are stuffing into duffle bags, daypacks and anything else they can find; the bespeckled chief grabs any poor fool he sees waiting his turn, jams the bag in his arms and slaps him on the ass.

Screw going back to your bunks, take these and just go! Follow the exit signs and stay low! And no pushing!

A 'packrat' pokes his head out of the supply room, waving a large garbage bag like it's a first place trophy.

Hey Kelso! We found some fanny packs!

The chief gives him a thumbs up.

Put a sidearm, clips and grenades in each one - and don't forget some kind of first aid and an energy bar! And a knife, for God's sake!

[BlueNinja]

Judy, lacking anything better to do or orders to the contrary, starts helping the supply folks in handing out supplies, and watching the tunnel for any sign of attack, her sniper rifle slung across her back.

[Alex Green]

Bravo Warpfloor

On the floor, the last of the bodies are being rushed out of the way by medics. Engineers in the t-port control booths are frantically monitoring radio chatter, trying to find somewhere safe to send their comrades. Vlad and a few others on guard duty have so far kept anyone from rushing the transporters.

Vlad in his stone form moves from solider to solider, says a few encouraging words to each, and then moves on. While his display of nova power isn't as impressive as some, it's right there, right now and largely has the desired effect of reminding everyone that novas and nova force is on their side... and could be brought to bear if anyone stepped too far out of line.

[Asbjørn]

Bravo Warpfloor

On the floor, the last of the bodies are being rushed out of the way by medics. Engineers in the t-port control booths are frantically monitoring radio chatter, trying to find somewhere safe to send their comrades. Vlad and a few others on guard duty have so far kept anyone from rushing the transporters.

Stopping by the entrance a mere fraction of a second Hood turns to Nomad first.

"You're faster than me, and know people. Check the connected areas for other casualties, find out if we've lost more than our porters."

Judy, lacking anything better to do or orders to the contrary, starts helping the supply folks in handing out supplies, and watching the tunnel for any sign of attack, her sniper rifle slung across her back.

Long before Judy gets a chance to act, the scout lieutenant turns to her as she comes running down the tunnel after them. His whole body seems to flicker from stance to stance like an old movie image, his mouth completely out of sync with the words coming out of it. He points to the engineers in the t-port control booths and sends her off with a shouted

"T-port control! Figure out what the hell is happening out there, and if they've got a plan or not."

The words are still hanging in the air - eerily understandable despite the time disturbance - when his mouth closes and he turns to Vanderlay.

"Doc, you're with me," he adds, heading off towards the medics with the pandoran in tow. "Keep all your senses on alert and let me know the second you notice anything."

When he gets there he looks the bodies over briefly, assessing the damage himself and also asking the opinion of the medic in charge.

[Heritage]

X4:

"Could somebody grab my belongings and drop it here on your way?"

Epstein adjusts the strap of her fletcher over her shoulder and a few things under her greatcoat, then nods.

On it, sir!

She drops down on all fours and tears down the hallway cheetah-style ::ohmy

Seeing Mortimer struggling with the awkward laser and heavy power pack, Delacroix shakes his head in disgust.

Gimme that damn thing!

He grabs the startled specialist by the collar, plucks the pack of his back, and plops him back on the ground.

Now give me that laser, dumbass - what's the use of grabbing a weapon you can't even use? Here-

The captain reaches into his shoulder holster, hefts out a massive stainless-steel Desert Eagle sidearm, and presses it into Mortimer's sweaty hands.

It's a .357 - even you should be able to handle that.

Epstein blurs back into the room, a heavy duffle slung across her torso; she skids to a halt in front of Griffin, shoots upright and drops the bag at his feet with a thud.

IpackedasmuchasIcouldprettyfastnowsirIthinkIgotmostifnotallofyourstuffsirgivemeamomenttoslowdown!

The young scout takes a deep breath, holds it and lets it out.

Sorry, sir - boosted my metabolism for a few moments. Whew!

Griffin grabs himself Umberto6 and sling him on. After initialising contact he starts to ask HQ for new informations. At the same time he starts to work on the monitor station, rapidly cycling through the camera channnels and sensor readings to find out what´s going on outside.

Griffin gets no response at all from Battalion HQ, but there are flashing messages on the Green Screen, reports coming in from all over:

5th INF, Hole 14. Shots fired!

2nd INF, Hole 5. Shots fired!

9th BTN HQ. Shots fired!

7th INF, Hole 19. Under Attack!

WS Bravo. Missiles Incoming!

The list goes on and on...

As far as X4's own monitors are concerned, there is some movement along the paths that lead towards the mountain; what look like small tanks with squat, Gatling gun mountings and some sort of grinding apparatus on the front are trundling along at high speed, flanked by lines of soldiers with heavy body armor. Daniels lumbers over to the nearest monitor, struggling slightly under the weight of his gear.

Shit, they've got Badgers! Those things dig through dirt and rock like nobody's business!

I know what they are, corporal - now get the hell back by that tunnel!

Emma's moving as soon as Delacroix gives her orders. Jogging quickly up the Northeast corridor she listens to the others evacuating as she nears the welded door of the base reactor room. Stopping before the door, she searches it thoroughly to assess how bothersome trying to open it would be. Hitting the intercom, she calls softly, "Jubersky, can we talk?"

If and or when the telepath can see him she tries to reach into his mind surreptiously.

The door is very stout indeed, designed to resist anything short of explosives (ironic, no?), heavy machinery or nova assault. Emma quickly peers through the thick glass porthole, gets a good look at Jubersky, and begins to establish contact. As she enters the mind of the troubled Engineer, she is stunned by the amount of information flying around; chemical formulae, long twisting chains of statistics, schematics and blueprints, and verbal orders. Lots of orders, some shouted, some begging, some whispered seductively.

"You will do as I say!"

"Do you understand?"

"Does that compute?!"

"Please!"

"Kyle, help your mommy, sweetie!"

"You have to do this, Juje - we're all counting on you, man."

"Ky-le! I'm in the sho-wer!"

The deeper she goes, the louder they become, the words buffeting her about like a bird in a windstorm.

"Do you hear me, soldier?"

"Do you read me?"

"Answer me!"

"You worthless, spineless grub!"

"Useless."

"Kyle, we gotta move now, buddy!"

"Ky-le!"

"Sweetie?"

"Worthless!"

"Honey? What's wrong, baby?"

"Spineless!"

"I think the procedure was an unqualified success."

"GRUB!"

At last, she breaks through into an ocean of calm; a small blue globe of light hangs before her, smelling of sunshine and new-mown grass. Distantly with her human ears, Emma hears Jubersky respond over the com link.

Hello, Emma - what would you like to talk about?

[Heritage]

8th Battalion HQ:

Death. Destruction. Silence.

These are the three things the squad of Havocs find throughout the base; what they're not finding is survivors. How could they have struck so fast and taken so few casualties? In the command center, more bodies of men and women killed at their shattered stations as they sat, several of them charred down to the bone and still sizzling. And they called him a monster.

Just as the last of the Havocs was about to leave the remains of C&C, a voice over the Path with just an edge of panic; something about Base X4...

OOC: Okay, as of this point, Havoc(s) can communicate with Griffin back at X4 ::ultracool