Aberrant: War Journal - WJ2: Day of Days

[Grizzly]

IpackedasmuchasIcouldprettyfastnowsirIthinkIgotmostifnotallofyourstuffsirgivemea

momenttoslowdown!

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

"Thanks, Lynn."

Griffin wriggles himself into his vest and combat gear, simultaneously trying to still reach somebody at Batallion-HQ.

*HQ, do you read me? This is X-Ped4.*

"Captain! Nearly every hole is under attack of some sort, 9th Battalion HQ under attack, too, Dub Bravo is under Missile attack, still no answer from our HQ, they do not respond....."

(ooc: Where are the Joes and how long do they need to get to the entrances of the tunnels/ how long do they need to burrow through the rocks to reach the base if they don´t know the tunnels?)

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...

who is pannicked? Griffin isn´t. ::ultracool

[ezekiel]

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

*B Squad, get to the armory and report back with what you find. C Squad, get to intel and gather up what looks important. You may find keys on the commander's body. Anything you don't take...destroy.*

Havoc looked at the Path and picked it up.

"X4, this is 8th Battalion HQ reporting in with heavy casualties, what's happening?"

Havoc indicates his squadmate to keep patrolling the area and to check bodies for any signs of life..or to gather dogtags...

[Grizzly]

"X4, this is 8th Battalion HQ reporting in with heavy casualties, what's happening?"

*Finally! Lieutenant Griffin here, who´s speaking?. X4 is under attack, too. Small tanks with Badgers are aproaching, accompanied by heavy armored infantry. Receving Data that nearly all bases are under attack, incomming missiles on Dub-B, 9th HQ under attack, too. Additionally, we have a internal problem. The Joes seem to use a kind of Psychic attack, our Chief ingeneer seems to be mindcontroled and has threatened to blow up our reactor. Situation is critical but not hopeless yet, our resident mindbender tries to stop him.*

"Captain? HQ is responding! They are under attack, too. Reporting heavy casualties...."

Griffins voice is clear and calm, sounding even somewhat detached. ::ultracool (Griffin works on the tactical data he gets from the screens and the sensors outside of the base.)

(ooc:When Grifin is ready with getting into his full gear, he attunes as much as possible and activates his Armor power)

[ezekiel]

*Finally! Lieutenant Griffin here, who´s speaking?. X4 is under attack, too. Small tanks with Badgers are aproaching, accompanied by heavy armored infantry. Receving Data that nearly all bases are under attack, incomming missiles on Dub-B, 9th HQ under attack, too. Additionally, we have a internal problem. The Joes seem to use a kind of Psychic attack, our Chief ingeneer seems to be mindcontroled and has threatened to blow up our reactor. Situation is critical but not hopeless yet, our resident mindbender tries to stop him.*

"Captain? HQ is responding! They are under attack, too. Reporting heavy casualties...."

Griffins voice is clear and calm, sounding even somewhat detached. ::ultracool (Griffin works on the tactical data he gets from the screens and the sensors outside of the base.)

(ooc:When Grifin is ready with getting into his full gear, he attunes as much as possible and activates his Armor power)

"I am still trying to determine if there are any survivors here...Do you need assistance? We no longer have any porters, if you open a portal to HQ maybe I can give you a hand and transfer weapons from the armory here to your men..."

[Grizzly]

"I am still trying to determine if there are any survivors here...Do you need assistance? We no longer have any porters, if you open a portal to HQ maybe I can give you a hand and transfer weapons from the armory here to your men..."

*..any survivors? What do ou mean? Please identify yourself! As for assistance, we take what you can spare. A Cobra with anti-tank capabilities would be nice. What´s up with the warpers? We´ll try to get that T-Port active......*

"The seemed to be hit very hard at HQ, Sir. I still have no name of who´s talking to me, but he says that they are searching for survivors. Doesn´t sound good for me. He offers assistance but there are no more Warpers there, we need to take the T-Port. I hope Jujubee hasn´t bobytrapped it."

[BlueNinja]

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."

"On it!" Judy quickly scans the T-Port control booths, looking to see which ones are damaged and where the senior ranking person is. If any of them are damaged beyond repair, she'll ignore them, otherwise she'll start at the most damaged pad and put her engineering prodigy skills to use at fixing it in a hurry. If none of the pads are damaged, then she'll run over to the most senior person, report with her rank and division, and ask what he needs most at the moment. (Within reason, of course.)

[ezekiel]

8th Battalion HQ

*..any survivors? What do ou mean? Please identify yourself! As for assistance, we take what you can spare. A Cobra with anti-tank capabilities would be nice. What´s up with the warpers? We´ll try to get that T-Port active......*

"I mean just what I said, soldier. This is Sgt. Havoc. I was in the Well when it all happened so I don't know what exactly happened, looks like 7th attacked. Tell Delacroix not to expect backup anytime soon; I'll try to create a diversion for you..."

[Heritage]

Semptember 24, 2056 0615 Hours. The Sky over Bravo:

The air is chill early this September morning, and the horizon is pale blue in the east, throwing the valleys between the mountains into deep shadow; to the left, the Cascades march northwards, and sparks of fire and plumes of smoke can be seen rising as far as the eye can see. Small glittering shapes dance through the air over the tree-covered hills, pursued by angels and devils, lumnescent trails that snake after their fast moving prey; sometimes one of the silver birds vanishes in a cloud of flame, and sometimes an angel falls to earth.

Closer at hand, two small contrails can be seen rapidly approaching from the northeast, and clouds of dust are rising out of a valley due east not ten kilometers away. The flying Cobras hover above their grounded comrades, who hoot and cheer on the side of Lookout Mountain, waiting for some action to come their way.

Far overhead in the cloudless sky, something winks and flashes in high orbit.

WS Bravo Familiy Center:

With great effort, reality snaps back into focus, and Rourke is where he stands, not on strange ground. The children and even the nurses take comfort in his strong yet gentle presence, and Dr Hawthorne smiles grimly.

Pretty soon, I'll be out of a job. Where to, Mr. Rourke?

Julia buries her face in his shoulder, and whispers.

Bertie Bee says we have to go - it's not safe here anymore.

[archer]

WS Bravo Familiy Center:

With great effort, reality snaps back into focus, and Rourke is where he stands, not on strange ground. The children and even the nurses take comfort in his strong yet gentle presence, and Dr Hawthorne smiles grimly.

Pretty soon, I'll be out of a job. Where to, Mr. Rourke?

Julia buries her face in his shoulder, and whispers.

Bertie Bee says we have to go - it's not safe here anymore.

"We're going, sweetheart, don't worry." He waves his free arm to gather the kids around. "Okay, everyone grab a partner and hold hands so we don't lose each other. Then I want all of you to follow me and the other adults to the Warpfloor. All set? Alright, let's go!"

He starts off at an easy stride, talking over his shoulder to Dr. Hawthorne. "We'll try the T-Ports first."

[Heritage]

Bravo Warpfloor

"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.

Vanderlay nods quickly and falls in line behind him. Spotting a white cross on a man giving orders, Hood heads over to SSPEC Darryl Morgan, who seems to be the highest ranking medic on the floor; at first he's completely put off by the senior Scout's current odd form of speaking, but he quickly adapts.

"It's bad, sir - not one survivor. I was just on the horn with Delta up north, they said the same damn thing hit them and Alpha. Reports from all over the state confirm it; as of right now to the best of our knowledge, the Greens have no warpers and no porters. There were a few teams out in the field, but we haven't heard anything."

Kat shakes her head and looks like she wants to cry, scream, vomit or do all three at once.

"It's gone - whatever did this...it's gone. All...all used up like a book of matches."

Suddenly there is a distinctive three-toned chime over the PA system. No one has heard it in a while, but a few of the lifers recognize the sound: General Chimera is about to speak. With the exception of the surgeons and nurses back in the med ward and a handful of others, everyone stops and stares gaping at the speakers high up on the wall. The message can be heard in every base still intact throughout the Green network; the passion in the nova's voice is utterly captivating.

"Attention all personnel; this is General Chimera at Warpstation Alpha. We have been betrayed. Certain elements of the Intelligence division, working secretly with the senior officers of the 1st, 6th and 7th Infantry battalions have plotted to hand us all over to Daddy's Boys and the Rangers. They think they can wipe us out, but they are wrong."

There is a pause, and when the voice returns it is choked with emotion.

"I vowed to protect you...and I've failed. I'm...I'm sorry. I've lead you all-"

Suddenly there is a harsh squawk and new voice can be heard, the harsh North London accent of General Hackney.

"Geddof the bleedin' wireless, you're not helping them. Right, this is Hackney - we've been f@cked, and f@cked good. They got us in the back whilst we was napping, caught us with our trousers down. Well f@ck them! They hit us hard, we hit back harder! They stab us in the back, we stab 'em in the balls! We need to disappear into the woods and valleys, lay low until the moment's right, then strike out of nowhere and blow there f@ckin' heads off! My Scouts...do what you do best; help your brothers by being the sneakiest f@ck's in all God's creation. Climb into your enemy’s bed, tell him you love him, then slit his throat. Regs, be the glue you know you are – don’t let it all fall apart, not like this. And Cobras…you ugly f@ckin’ wankers; prove us all wrong. Show the world that you’re more than stupid pumped-up bastards; you’re stupid pumped-up bastards with enormous guns and a reason to kill."

And here at last the Englishman’s caustic venom nearly runs dry.

"They got Monty…in the back, in his bunk; that’s no way for a Cobra to die. They took him from you, in his sleep. Make them all pay."

And now his voice is ringing with near religious fervor.

" 'Through the mud...and the blood...to the green fields beyond!' "

Somehow, despite the grim horror of all they have faced, the assembled Greens raise a ragged, desperate cheer; the man is right - they will not let them win. As the fervent applause continues, Hackney can be heard to spit out one last threat; it sounds like he's being dragged away from the microphone, but it's impossible to tell by whom.

"And Bledsoe! You can’t hide from me, you traitorous f@ck!"

But now there's no more time for cheering; the first artillery shells fired from the mobile battery ten kilometers to the east hit the side of the mountain, throwing people and gear to the floor. The assault on Warpstation Bravo has begun in earnest.

(OOC: These stirring words are broadcast not only to all bases but over all radios in the field - every PC has heard it.)

[archer]

But now there's no more time for cheering; the first artillery shells fired from the mobile battery ten kilometers to the east hit the side of the mountain, throwing people and gear to the floor. The assault on Warpstation Bravo has begun in earnest.

Having slowed down to listen, Rourke barely bites back an oath as the mountain trembles. Glancing around to make sure everyone is still accounted for, he re-gathers the children with the help of the other adults. "Okay kids, we need to hurry. Let's keep going."

Scooping up some of the smaller children in his arms to ride with the first little girl, he picks up the pace, going as fast as the kids behind can follow. Occasionally he turns around mid-step, encouraging all of them to keep following.

Finally arriving at the T-Ports, Rourke sets down all the kids he's carrying except Julia, gently shooing them to join the other children. He glances around at the various Greens running around, and nods at the doctor. "Ma'am, you know these folk better than I do. Try asking around for a decent place we can take these kids. Maybe someplace that at least isn't being shelled right now."

His eye catches sight of someone else he recognizes. "Vlad!" he bellows across the floor, trying to get the man's attention.

[Alex Green]

After hearing the messages, Vlad doesn't look happy, in fact he looks both pissed and like his dog just died. On the other hand, there isn't even a touch of fear on him, much less panic, which puts him a little a head in game.

His eye catches sight of someone else he recognizes. "Vlad!" he bellows across the floor, trying to get the man's attention.

He responds,

"Sir!"

[archer]

After hearing the messages, Vlad doesn't look happy, in fact he looks both pissed and like his dog just died. On the other hand, there isn't even a touch of fear on him, much less panic, which puts him a little a head in game.He responds,

"Sir!"

With his free arm, Rourke waves him over, and nods towards the kids behind him. "I think we may need some other options for evacuation. Have you considered using your abilities to create a new tunnel the enemy wouldn't know about?"

[ezekiel]

8th Headquarters

They got Monty…in the back, in his bunk; that’s no way for a Cobra to die. They took him from you, in his sleep. Make them all pay."

And now his voice is ringing with near religious fervor.

" 'Through the mud...and the blood...to the green fields beyond!' "

Havoc punched through a wall next to him as he heard the announcement. A week before they'd put him in the well for doing just what the General was asking them to do. Now they gave him the green card...and, more importantly, a reason

Shot in the back...

Havoc left the command center and headed towards the armory, seething

Betrayed by our own men...

The large nova reached the armory as his two duplicates were gathering equipment. Seeing him they tossed him his confiscated whipsword and garrote, which he promptly clipped to his belt.

Monty...in his sleep...

C squad arrived in the armory. They had been venting on the intelligence quarters, destroying as they thought of the traitors, smashing to pieces. B squad slapped C4 onto Havoc's back as the big nova wolfed down some rations, his first unmoxed meal in a long time. His green uniform quickly latched onto the explosive packs, giving him a hunched look as it oozed over. Washing down the rations with some water, he looked at the others. They all knew what had to happen...

Make them all pay!

[phoenix]

What? Monty?

Sarah hadn't even been paying attention to the broadcast until the announcement of Ballard's death. In her transformed state, no outlet presents itself for rage and grief, but the monstrous column of water forming her body stops its flight and writhes in the air, agitated waves criscrossing its ordinarily smooth surface.

The Cobras will never be the same. The Greens will never be the same.

Sarah carefully recalls the first part of the message. The Dads and the Rangers? In an instant, a lifelong grudge is formed. She forces herself to listen to Hackney as he finishes his broadcast.

" 'Through the mud...and the blood...to the green fields beyond!' "

[Heritage]

Outside Bravo:

Contrary to popular belief, artillery shells don't whistle as they fly overhead; they're supersonic, so you only know you're being fired upon when the damn things start exploding all around you.

The first wave of shells catches the Cobras on the side of the mountain unawares; a few of them are vaporized instantaneously as the high explosives detonate, sending shockwaves deep into the mountain as massive limbs and torsos are shredded into oblivion. There is absolutely no time to mourn, however; the remaining novas on the ground spread themselves out and find cover. And at last the Tomahawks arrive, giving the boys in the air something to fight...

Bravo Warpfloor:

Judy finds the T-Ports are all in order, but the Engineers in charge are hard pressed to find anywhere safe to send personnel. Sgt. Otis Allen of the Engineers is the highest ranking man at the southern t-port station; when Judy presents herself, he quickly returns her salute.

Alright Kapriski, get these guys in line! As soon as we have a safe place to send 'em, send them forward in packs of four!

He turns to a specialist by his side.

Okay, Seaver, put me through to 8th Battalion HQ - we haven't heard from them, and they have two t-ports, let's see if they can handle us. If not, we go north to 5th, the rest of the Core is a write-off.

On it, sir! 8th Battalion HQ, do you read? This is WS Bravo - we are under attack and need evac points! Are either or both of your t-ports working? Over.

X4:

No one moves. There is stunned silence in C&C after Hackney's message ends - how could this have happened? Colby in particular is shocked to near-inaudibility.

Richter was in on this? How? The man bleeds Green when you shoot him! I don't get it.

She leans up against the wall next to the escape tunnel for support.

1st, 6th and 7th - three of the hardest-fighting, hardest-hit battalions. In the shit every day. Maybe they gave up. Maybe their souls finally died.

Delacroix shakes his head in quiet rage.

They got lazy - they got tired of doing their damn jobs, and then they turned around and f@cked us up the ass. Mother-f@ckin' goddamn bastards!

He whips his helmet off his head and hurls it at one of the flatscreen monitors on the wall, which splits and goes to static.

Damn it! Alright, we need to get out of here now - Griffin, status report. Daniels, run back into the storage area and grab me the other two power packs for this thing. Gonna show you a trick I learned back in the service.

8th Battalion HQ:

In the C&C, another voice comes over the Path.

8th Battalion HQ, do you read? This is WS Bravo - we are under attack and need evac points! Are either or both of your t-ports working? Over.

[ezekiel]

8th Battalion HQ, do you read? This is WS Bravo - we are under attack and need evac points! Are either or both of your t-ports working? Over.

This is Sgt. Havoc reading you loud and clear, Bravo. Send your people over.

[Alex Green]

Bravo Warpfloor:

With his free arm, Rourke waves him over, and nods towards the kids behind him. "I think we may need some other options for evacuation. Have you considered using your abilities to create a new tunnel the enemy wouldn't know about?"

Vlad gives him a look that suggests he's considered that several times but says,

"Yes. It'd be easy. The only issues are where to go, and would making a new tunnel make things worse."

[Heritage]

Bravo, South T-Port Station:

This is Sgt. Havoc reading you loud and clear, Bravo. Send your people over.

Sarge, we got a live one at 8th battalion!

Fan-f@ckiing-tastic, send the kids over first. Kapriski, get the kids going!

Allen stops for a second, then points at Rourke.

What am I thinking? Yo, Grizzly Adams, you go through first, make sure it's okay!

[BlueNinja]

Judy, using her shotgun as a club where needed, works to put people into a two-person-wide line in front of the north telepad as quickly as possible, shouting at the top of her not-inconsiderable lungs. "Quit your screaming and whining! Soon as we have a target, we're all getting the frak outta here!" She motions to Rourke and the kids, using a gentler hand and a smile that tightens the burn scars on her face. "Somebody's at the 8th, but I have no idea how much trouble they're in over there, so let's go kick some ass." She steps onto the pad with him, a gun at the ready in each hand. "Beam me out, Scotty!" she says jauntily. "I'll get them organized on the other side soon as we know it's clear!"

[archer]

Vlad gives him a look that suggests he's considered that several times but says,

"Yes. It'd be easy. The only issues are where to go, and would making a new tunnel make things worse."

Giving Vlad a shrewd look in return, Rourke responds seriously. "Things will get worse no matter what you do. Better we take the chance than not." Listening briefly to the chatter about 8th Battalion, he continues. "Looks like there's only one way to go right now. Make a tunnel that will lead to the 8th Battalion base. I'm sure you know the earth better than I do, so use your own judgement on how long it needs to be. At the very least, try to get it clear of the pounding we're taking here. Hood over there should be able to help you." He nods towards the scout standing on the other side of the warpfloor.

Allen stops for a second, then points at Rourke.

What am I thinking? Yo, Grizzly Adams, you go through first, make sure it's okay!

Rourke nods in assent to Allen, then looks back at Vlad. "I have to go now. Do what you can."

Setting down the little girl he's been carrying this whole time, he looks her in the eye. "You stay with the doctor, sweetheart. I need to make sure the place I'm taking all of you is safe." Pushing her gently into the doctor's hands, he stands and moves quickly to stand on the pad next to Kapriski, and nods at the engineer operating the t-port. "Ready."

[Alex Green]

Bravo Warpfloor:

{Activate Blind fighting. Movement was already on}

Vlad nods and gestures at his bag, a tendril of rock grows from the ground and carries it to him. This attracts the attention of a number of people around the two novas, and Vlad digs into his bag as he talks.

“Right. North it is then.” He continues more loudly, “The thing about new tunnels is they are really dark. Now would be a good time to get as many flash lights as you can. Leave some of them off, we could be down there for a bit.”

Vlad’s bag yields two large baton style flash lights, one of which he hands to the doctor. Vlad then puts the bag on his back as a backpack and not so much walks as 'surfs' over to the north wall (left of the room which is left of the blue room/elevator).

Beyond the wall, the earth where he moves gets shoved and compressed to all sides leaving an opening. The tunnel is mostly an oval perhaps two and a half meters tall although the bottom is flat and perhaps a meter and a half wide. The sides are smooth but not featureless, their color remains the same as the rock that formed them. The overall effect is interesting… and extremely claustrophobic. Vlad makes the tunnel slope downward at a 20 degree angle or so.

Anyone entering the tunnel will notice a wind coming from the entrance and moving down the tunnel, nature abhors a vacuum.

[Asbjørn]

Vlad’s bag yields two large baton style flash lights, one of which he hands to the doctor. Vlad then puts the bag on his back as a backpack and not so much walks as 'surfs' over to the north wall (left of the room which is left of the blue room/elevator).

"Hold!"

Leaping up from his study of the corpses, Hood appears more or less out of nowhere, his flickering form mouthing words out of sync with his voice as he produces a map from a pocket under his poncho.

"Keep about 15 degrees west, there's a narrow valley here that should make a good exit and cover us as we regroup and move on." He points to a spot on the map about two miles from the base. "Can you hit that?"

[Alex Green]

Vlad looks at the map for a moment and says,

"Probably. And two miles is nothing. I can go almost 50 miles per hour."

[Asbjørn]

"Well, two miles is about all we need right now, I think. We'll reconsider once we're out. Now, don't let me keep you..."

The scout pats Vlad on the back and heads off - leaving him the map if he needs it - to see the CO. On the way he tries to get 'his people' - Vanderlay, Nomad if he's still around - and whoever else isn't already evacuating one of the other ways to follow Vlad.

Hood enters the command centre at a run, stopping abruptly in front of Pritzlaff.

"All the warpers and porters are dead. T-Ports are opening to 8th Battalion HQ, and evacuation is starting that way. A lot have already left through the tunnel, and we're digging a new one out the north side as we speak. I'm going that way. Do we scatter and hide on our own, or do you have any orders for us?"

[ezekiel]

8th HQ

Setting down the little girl he's been carrying this whole time, he looks her in the eye. "You stay with the doctor, sweetheart. I need to make sure the place I'm taking all of you is safe." Pushing her gently into the doctor's hands, he stands and moves quickly to stand on the pad next to Kapriski, and nods at the engineer operating the t-port. "Ready."

The first thing Rourke hears once the T-Port runs its course is the sound of running water hitting asphalt. As his eyes adjust to the new surroundings he spots a large nova in green uniform standing before him. The "8" on his chest a reminder of the battalion that was...

"Welcome to eights territory...ya better be a Green, son, I'm in no mood for games."

Rourke notices behind Havoc two identicle novas. One's arms are extended into some kind of large spatulas, which it uses to scrape and push bodies into a pile as another one brushes blood away. Finally spotting the source of the running water, a fourth Havoc is hosing down the T-Pad sector, streaks of crimson trickling down to drains...

[BlueNinja]

8th HQ

Rourke notices behind Havoc two identicle novas. One's arms are extended into some kind of large spatulas, which it uses to scrape and push bodies into a pile as another one brushes blood away. Finally spotting the source of the running water, a fourth Havoc is hosing down the T-Pad sector, streaks of crimson trickling down to drains...

Standing next to Rourke, Judy slowly lowers her gun. "Sweet baby Jesus," she whispers, then straightens up and returns the sawed-off to the holster across her back. "Bravo is under fire, heavy fire. They sent out the Cobras to try and stop the barrage long enough for us to evacuate - and right now, this is the safest place. Is there any way we can clear out these bodies faster? They want the first evacuees to be the kids." She gulps as she stares at one of the piles of corpses.

[archer]

8th HQ

The first thing Rourke hears once the T-Port runs its course is the sound of running water hitting asphalt. As his eyes adjust to the new surroundings he spots a large nova in green uniform standing before him. The "8" on his chest a reminder of the battalion that was...

"Welcome to eights territory...ya better be a Green, son, I'm in no mood for games."

Rourke doesn't respond immediately, ignoring the 'son' comment, and instead glances around for any possible threats to the children. Other than the behemoth in front of him, that is. He lets Judy do the talking for now.

"Bravo is under fire, heavy fire. They sent out the Cobras to try and stop the barrage long enough for us to evacuate - and right now, this is the safest place. Is there any way we can clear out these bodies faster? They want the first evacuees to be the kids."

The bearded man nods, and speaks to his companion without moving his gaze from Havoc. He seems strangely unruffled by the scene before him, or Havoc himself. "Judy, would you please contact Bravo and let them know what to expect before they start sending the kids over? Make sure the doctor knows, especially."

He directs his next statement to Havoc, sincerity evident. "I'm sorry for your losses here. What can I do to help?"

[BlueNinja]

The bearded man nods, and speaks to his companion without moving his gaze from Havoc. He seems strangely unruffled by the scene before him, or Havoc himself. "Judy, would you please contact Bravo and let them know what to expect before they start sending the kids over? Make sure the doctor knows, especially."

She nods, ducking off the telepad and over to the controls, speed-typing out a quick message back to Bravo. 8th is a mess, dead bodies everywhere but no immediate threat, send help before the kids. SPC Kapriski

[ezekiel]

Standing next to Rourke, Judy slowly lowers her gun. "Sweet baby Jesus," she whispers, then straightens up and returns the sawed-off to the holster across her back. "Bravo is under fire, heavy fire. They sent out the Cobras to try and stop the barrage long enough for us to evacuate - and right now, this is the safest place. Is there any way we can clear out these bodies faster? They want the first evacuees to be the kids." She gulps as she stares at one of the piles of corpses.

Havoc stares at the bodies before looking back at Judy

"We're doing what we can. The kids will see many deaths before this war is over, if Bravo's under fire, just send them in."

He directs his next statement to Havoc, sincerity evident. "I'm sorry for your losses here. What can I do to help?"

"There's no one left to help, we'll try to make the path to the medrooms a little less gruesome...but don't expect Versailles or anything..."

...

"Perhaps you should know that we are replicas of Sgt. Havoc. We won't be here long. Havoc's gone to give Joey a visit...If you wish, one of use can go back to Bravo and make sure the T-Ports are destroyed once everybody's through."

[archer]

"There's no one left to help, we'll try to make the path to the medrooms a little less gruesome...but don't expect Versailles or anything..."

...

"Perhaps you should know that we are replicas of Sgt. Havoc. We won't be here long. Havoc's gone to give Joey a visit...If you wish, one of use can go back to Bravo and make sure the T-Ports are destroyed once everybody's through."

Shaking his head, Rourke answers in the negative. "That won't be necessary, the people already there will take care of whatever is needed. Speaking of which, maybe you could show me the way to the medrooms, I imagine we may need to have them ready."

Waiting on the clone's answer, he turns his head to look at Judy. His voice echoes with sadness, but he sounds resolute. "He's right, you know. Those kids will see worse before it gets better. And we need to evac everyone as fast as we can, kids or not. That lady doc will earn her pay tonight when the nightmares come."

*When the nightmares come...*

He shakes his head angrily as if trying to shrug something off, and keeps talking. "Kids first, women and wounded second, everyone else last."

[Alex Green]

"Well, two miles is about all we need right now, I think. We'll reconsider once we're out. Now, don't let me keep you..."

Vlad reaches the wall and (hopefully) quickly vanishes into the distance. Someone watching him enter the new tunnel might notice that the 'flat' part of the tunnel matches the part where he is 'surfing'.

[phoenix]

And at last the Tomahawks arrive, giving the boys in the air something to fight...

Just before the missiles meet the Cobras, a large globule of water dissociates from Sarah's giant, snakelike mass, which proceeds to hurl it violently at one of the Tomahawks.

[OOC: Immobilize.]

[Heritage]

WS Bravo, Warpfloor

"Well, two miles is about all we need right now, I think. We'll reconsider once we're out. Now, don't let me keep you..."

The scout pats Vlad on the back and heads off - leaving him the map if he needs it - to see the CO. On the way he tries to get 'his people' - Vanderlay, Nomad if he's still around - and whoever else isn't already evacuating one of the other ways to follow Vlad.

The Pandoran nods her head firmly.

Good luck, Hood; see you on the other side.

She then trots off after Vlad, herding as many people as she can into the still warm tunnel.

Bravo C&C

Hood enters the command centre at a run, stopping abruptly in front of Pritzlaff.

"All the warpers and porters are dead. T-Ports are opening to 8th Battalion HQ, and evacuation is starting that way. A lot have already left through the tunnel, and we're digging a new one out the north side as we speak. I'm going that way. Do we scatter and hide on our own, or do you have any orders for us?"

Hood finds the C&C to be a far more chaotic place than when he left it; the younger officers are trashing the computers, hoping to destroy any records they can't carry with them. Pritzlaff is ash-pale, blankly sitting in a chair as glass is smashed all around him. At first doesn't even seem to hear the otherworldly Scout; when at last he does speak, it is far too calm to be fully rational.

"We need to leave the mountain; get out as many people as you can by any means you can."

Suddenly his eyes lock with Hood's, not quite focusing on the man in front of him.

"It's a death trap; all the bases are death traps. We never should have settled down."

He gestures to the officers engaged in destruction.

"Leave it; I can finish up here. Don't bother to grab anything else, just get the hell outside. Form up in small groups and disappear; try to stay in contact if you can, but the number one priority is not dying."

Turning back to Hood, he rises up and leans in to whisper.

"You folks, the black baggers; you were doing something in the basement? I have a message for you."

He sighs as he starts punching a series of numbers into a small panel on the wall.

"I don't know what it means, but... The message is, 'Throne is dead.' It was from a girl named Turlow; I don't know where she is right now."

Pritzlaff indicates the door with his head.

"Better get going, soldier - if this one is anything like the last time, there won't be a lot left in a few minutes."

[Grizzly]

X4

"I mean just what I said, soldier. This is Sgt. Havoc. I was in the Well when it all happened so I don't know what exactly happened, looks like 7th attacked. Tell Delacroix not to expect backup anytime soon; I'll try to create a diversion for you..."

"Captain. The man at the HQ identified himself as Sgt. Heavoc, a former prisoner. Seem to know you. He sais that the 7th hit the HQ and we couldn´t expect any backup soon. I ´ll try to get some more heavy weapons and ammo."

*I am a O2, so it´s Sir, not Soldier, Sergeant. ::glare We could need some heavy, man portable weapons and ammunition of all kind and whatever you cane spare for now.*

"Anything new about Jubersky?"

Griffin still works on the sensor readouts to get more informations about the approaching enemies. Those Tanks are remotes, so there must be some operators near by, long distance radio control in montainious areas won´t function very well.

"Geddof the bleedin' wireless.....

" 'Through the mud...and the blood...to the green fields beyond!' "

..........hide from me, you traitorous f@ck!"

Inside Griffins "battle armor" helmet there is a face that first went pale as a sheet of paper and then, even in his somewhat detached state of mind, there comes the anger, making its way out as an unarticulated growl full of anger and hate. His ,from the outside opaque, visor that has usually a orange color changs to a bloodred, nearly black color and the air around him has a faint odor of ozone.

"GGGRRRLLL ::cursing ::nuclear "

A second later his voice is as calm as before, even more so, it sounds as cold as arctic ice. without any emotion at all.

"They will pay for it,..... later. First we have to survive this"

"Richter was in on this? How? The man bleeds Green when you shoot him! I don't get it."

She leans up against the wall next to the escape tunnel for support.

"1st, 6th and 7th - three of the hardest-fighting, hardest-hit battalions. In the shit every day. Maybe they gave up. Maybe their souls finally died."

"Large scale mind control? Like Jubersky, or so?"

"They got lazy - they got tired of doing their damn jobs, and then they turned around and f@cked us up the ass. Mother-f@ckin' goddamn bastards!"

He whips his helmet off his head and hurls it at one of the flatscreen monitors on the wall, which splits and goes to static.

Automatically,Griffin changes the distribution of his datastreams on the remaing screens to compensate his loss of one of them, still processing all incomming datas.

"Damn it! Alright, we need to get out of here now - Griffin, status report. Daniels, run back into the storage area and grab me the other two power packs for this thing. Gonna show you a trick I learned back in the service."

"Still on it, Sir. Taking out those tanks isn´t very easy with our limited recources. They are heavily armed and armored, especially at the front. But these are remote operated tanks. Suggestion: Taking out the operators would be easier. They couldn´t be far away, probably all together in a command vehicle of some kind. Still searching for something like that."

[Prince of Boredom]

The scout pats Vlad on the back and heads off - leaving him the map if he needs it - to see the CO. On the way he tries to get 'his people' - Vanderlay, Nomad if he's still around - and whoever else isn't already evacuating one of the other ways to follow Vlad.

Nomad looks up from the dead soldier whose pulse he was desperately hoping to find, "Copy that sir!"

Running down the hallway towards Vlad, he pulls a rubber band out of his pocket and pulls his long, somewhat wild hair back into a ponytail. Making his way into the newly formed tunnel, he makes his way to its creator, "Sir, Specialist Smith, is there anything I can do to help?"

[ezekiel]

8th HQ

*I am a O2, so it´s Sir, not Soldier, Sergeant. We could need some heavy, man portable weapons and ammunition of all kind and whatever you cane spare for now.*

"You can take it to my trial, Oh Two. I'll send some equipment by t-port. Havoc out."

later..

Shaking his head, Rourke answers in the negative. "That won't be necessary, the people already there will take care of whatever is needed. Speaking of which, maybe you could show me the way to the medrooms, I imagine we may need to have them ready."

"The ward's down that corridor and to the left. Armory's to the right if you people want to get ready for action. I wouldn't get too cozy here, whoever had the 7th attack knows about this place. Get moving as soon as possible. If you don't need us, we'll head over to X4 with some equipment."

The havocs all tilt their heads towards the one who spoke and simultaneously start running towards the armory. Like a well oiled machine, they pile equipment onto each others backs and run back to the telepads, ready to port to X4...

[Alex Green]

Running down the hallway towards Vlad, he pulls a rubber band out of his pocket and pulls his long, somewhat wild hair back into a ponytail. Making his way into the newly formed tunnel, he makes his way to its creator, "Sir, Specialist Smith, is there anything I can do to help?"

Vlad pauses and motions towards the disk of light that is getting smaller.

"Yes, go back and raid supply. Get all the flashlights they have and give them out. It's going to get oppressively dark in here and I think we'll have people up and down the whole tunnel."

[archer]

"The ward's down that corridor and to the left. Armory's to the right if you people want to get ready for action. I wouldn't get too cozy here, whoever had the 7th attack knows about this place. Get moving as soon as possible. If you don't need us, we'll head over to X4 with some equipment."

The havocs all tilt their heads towards the one who spoke and simultaneously start running towards the armory. Like a well oiled machine, they pile equipment onto each others backs and run back to the telepads, ready to port to X4...

As soon as Havoc gives the directions, Rourke is moving. He calls over his shoulder to Judy. "Man the T-Port and comms. I'm going to check the medrooms and start dealing with what we'll need. Send the wounded and medical personnel to me."

Long strides carry him quickly down the corridor. Reaching the room, he steps in and gets down to business. First he takes stock of supplies: medicines, bandages, trauma gear. Moving briskly, he looks for any sort of bags or containers to organize and place the supplies for evac and immediate use. Strangely, he feels a sense of comfortable familiarity connected to his actions, like he's done this sort of thing a hundred times before. The processing, the organization...he shook his head to clear it, realizing that his thoughts had stopped him moving. Ignoring the urge to try and recall whatever memory was tickling at him, he kept going, concentrating on the task at hand.

[BlueNinja]

As soon as Havoc gives the directions, Rourke is moving. He calls over his shoulder to Judy. "Man the T-Port and comms. I'm going to check the medrooms and start dealing with what we'll need. Send the wounded and medical personnel to me."

Judy is already doing that, typing faster than she could talk and trusting the encryption more. Send us personnel now, security first then evacuees. Whoever trashed the 8th might still be around and we need to be ready to bug out of here at a moment's notice. She quickly powers up the T-Port, then runs across to the other one, doing the same thing, running between them as quickly as possible and giving the arriving people orders as briefly as possible.