Aberrant: War Journal - WJ2: Day of Days

[Heritage]

X4:

8th HQ

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

Crouched on the ground, Delacroix winces as he starts doing something with the three laser battery packs and some spare cable.

"One of these days that boys gonna get his head smacked off for that mouth of his, but at least he's on our side. Okay, very slight change of plans; we've got some gear coming, so load up first and then get ready to haul ass."

The troops nod in agreement. Colby finally shakes off her shock and stands by the open t-port door, ready to start distributing supplies.

"Ol' Havoc back in action; not sure if I should laugh or cry." ::unsure

"Anything new about Jubersky?"

Epstein shoulders her flectcher and steps nimbly over to Emma, who seems lost in a trance by the engine room door; the young Scout peers in her eyes and gently touches her neck.

"She's in deep, sir; no visual response and her pulse is way low. I can't tell what's going on, but I don't think Jubersky is moving."

"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."

The captain shakes his head.

"Rimrock. Gotta be Rimrock."

Incoming t-port in 3, 2, 1...

8th Battalion HQ:

Judy and Rourke go into a sort of dance, weaving an intricate ballet of incoming troops, outgoing Havocs and supply distribution that clicks seamlessly into place. The first wave from Bravo grab the gear as it is offered, ready to move out again at a moment's notice as they stand against the walls to keep the area clear.

When the first children are brought over, Dr Hawthorne throws a protective cocoon of warmth and hope around them, and the smells of charred flesh, sulpher and industrial cleanser are somewhat blurred and overlaid with scents of autumn leaves, sea breezes and Christmas potpourri. The children are quiet, but their eyes speak volumes; a boy maybe six years old mutely runs his finger over a dried smear of blood on a blackened control panel. As Julia steps out of the t-port, she catches a glimpse of the last broad green back about to step into the t-port across the way.

Daddy?

(OOC: You can have him hear her or not, Zeke ::wink)

WS Bravo Transport & Supply:

Kelso, the new master chief, is already on top of the situation; seeing the tunnel being formed, he’s already got his people bringing out every available light source they can find, from flashlights to kerosene lanterns to reading lights; the packrats check the batteries and hand them out, along with any spares they have in supply. The lanterns are being held in reserve, due to concerns about fire hazards and air supply.

The next wave of artillery slams into the mountain, rattling teeth and knocking people to the concrete.

Outside the Mountain:

The first vehicles of the T&S fleet hit the mouth of the tunnel, and the experienced drivers start tearing down the mountain road as fast as they can. One of the trucks takes a direct hit from a shell and disappears in a cloud of flame as the spare fuel lights up.

Sarah drops the first Tomahawk, which thoops harmlessly into her water blob and falls gently to the earth, but the second makes it past her; Bunko, an ugly tendril-covered Cobra held aloft by membranous gasbags on his back, is able to slam it away from the tunnel, which is clearly its target, but only succeeds in redirecting it. The missile slams into a neighboring peak and for a millisecond, time freezes, for if this is a nuke, everyone outside is ashes; a heartbeat later, the blast is a powerful concussive slap in the face, but it is a conventional high explosive warhead. This time.

[ezekiel]

8th Battalion HQ:

Judy and Rourke go into a sort of dance, weaving an intricate ballet of incoming troops, outgoing Havocs and supply distribution that clicks seamlessly into place. The first wave from Bravo grab the gear as it is offered, ready to move out again at a moment's notice as they stand against the walls to keep the area clear.

When the first children are brought over, Dr Hawthorne throws a protective cocoon of warmth and hope around them, and the smells of charred flesh, sulpher and industrial cleanser are somewhat blurred and overlaid with scents of autumn leaves, sea breezes and Christmas potpourri. The children are quiet, but their eyes speak volumes; a boy maybe six years old mutely runs his finger over a dried smear of blood on a blackened control panel. As Julia steps out of the t-port, she catches a glimpse of the last broad green back about to step into the t-port across the way.

The Havocs load up crates onto the T-Pad and accompany them one by one. As the forth shipment is ready the last remaining Havoc steps onto the pad and nods at Judy, indicating his readiness. The T-Port starts..

Daddy?,,

As he feels T-Port starting to take effect the novas enhanced hearing picks up the insecure voice. He looks at the girls and smiles comfortingly, his voice carrying as his form fades...

"Be strong, Julia..."

and disappears...

[Prince of Boredom]

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."

"Roger that sir." Nomad heads back to the entrance to the tunnel, and, seeing Master Chief Kelso already on the situation, he jumps into rhythm with his fellow Packrats and helps distribute flashlights.

[Asbjørn]

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.

Not one to have any kind of patience with officers who can't handle stress, Hood shakes his head and is about to turn on his heel and leave as soon as he realizes Pritzlaff isn't going to be any use. His flickering form seems to simply do a 180 degree turn between blinks, and he glances over his shoulder one last time...

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."

*You never should have let yourself believe you were safe... There is no safe place. They always come.*

"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."

The alien scout is already by the door when the colonel catches him. He stops as the message is delivered, freezing in his tracks for a brief moment.

*No. Not again... Abwoon, it's not fair! What did I do?*

His jaw muscles clench up as he grits his teeth and marches out, catching the end of the colonel's last remark as he leaves.

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

*What, last time your leadership fell apart and let people run around like headless chickens?* ::angry

Cursing Pritzlaff for being a weak officer, Chimera for being a hysterical woman trying to run a rebel paramilitary force when she obviously should have been in therapy, and Bledsoe for turning traitor and cutting him off from home, Hood breaks into a run back to the warpfloor and the new-made tunnel.

Scanning the room for the highest rank as he goes, he tells the lucky person to make sure to be the last man out, and he doesn't give a damn if he's ordering a sergeant or a major. Determined to be among the first to reach daylight and pick a safe route once they're all out, the scout then pushes past the line dodging and weaving between the evacuees and into the darkness. Once he passes the line of lights he turns on his own and keeps running.

[Alex Green]

A tunnel near WS Bravo Transport & Supply:

The next wave of artillery slams into the mountain, rattling teeth and knocking people to the concrete.

Vlad doesn't exactly fall but he is knocked off balance. Although he quickly recovers this leaves 'ripple' in the tunnel where it goes sharply down for 18 inches, followed by a 12 foot section where the slope down is uncomfortably steep.

Mentally he apologizes to the people who are going to use it and thinks,

*Trying times means shody work*. ::sad

[phoenix]

Sarah drops the first Tomahawk, which thoops harmlessly into her water blob and falls gently to the earth, but the second makes it past her; Bunko, an ugly tendril-covered Cobra held aloft by membranous gasbags on his back, is able to slam it away from the tunnel, which is clearly its target, but only succeeds in redirecting it. The missile slams into a neighboring peak and for a millisecond, time freezes, for if this is a nuke, everyone outside is ashes; a heartbeat later, the blast is a powerful concussive slap in the face, but it is a conventional high explosive warhead. This time.

Sarah restrains the urge to yell at Bunko (my fault, anyway) and scans the horizons for new threats.

[Heritage]

Vlad's Tunnel:

Engineers are taking some of the flashlights they got from T&S and attaching them to the still-warm walls of the new tunnel by any means necessary at roughly thirty meter intervals; they don't provide a lot of light, but the psychological effect is appreciated, creating attainable goals for the evacuees. An unknown nova with light-based powers is also helping out, leaving glowing arrows and encouraging slogans ("Keep Moving! You Can Do This!") in a variety of colors etched into the rock; in a bizarre way, it's like being in some community spook house, and a weird giddiness is in the air. If a runner stumbles, they are instantly helped to their feet; no thanks are given or expected, but a quick slap on the back says everything. A cool fresh breeze ruffles hair and clothing, no doubt another nova farther up the line looking our for the Green brothers and sisters coming up behind. For many, the feeling of being a part of something bigger, of lending a hand to a stranger, is very powerful, and it's a feeling some have not felt in a long time.

Did we lose something along the way? And why did it take something like this for us to find it?

[ezekiel]

X4

The captain shakes his head.

"Rimrock. Gotta be Rimrock."

Incoming t-port in 3, 2, 1...

"Come and get it boys and girls!"

The large nova drags a large crate from the T-Pad into C & C. He nods at the Captain.

"Captain..."

Finally setting the crates aside

Incoming t-port in 3, 2, 1...

"Come and get it boys and girls!"

Another Havoc drags a crate with two large Bullpups lying on it. Seeing Delacroix he nods

"Captain.."

and sets the crate aside.

Incoming t-port in 3, 2, 1...

"Come and get it boys and girls!"

The first Havoc looks at Emma at the reactor

"What's going on?"

A third shipment of equipment is dragged into the now becoming crowded C&C

"Captain..."

and sets his load of equipment aside.

Incoming t-port in 3, 2, 1...

The fourth shipment arrives yet this Havoc remains silent as he distributes the goods...

[Alex Green]

The Tunnel, much further in.

Vlad sped on through total darkness. If he’d stopped there would have been total silence, instead the sound of dirt being compressed into rock was crisp and on-going. He didn’t notice either. Building this kind of tunnel was too easy, it didn’t distract him from worrying about the larger issues at hand. Things fall apart, the center can not hold. The betrayal meant the game might be fixed. Someone else was thinking several moves ahead. When he found the valley he might find a trap as well. As big a worry as this was, he didn’t see what he could do about it, he was already running away.

Finally he just… knew. The surface was near. He couldn’t see it, but it was obvious just the same. He slowed, moved ahead a few inches at a time, and the absolute darkness became a circle of light in the wall, partly obscured by grass.

Vlad looked out the head sized hole and listened for soldiers, machinery, or other signs of the war.

[Heritage]

End of the Road:

The mouth of the tunnel comes out in a lightly-forested valley; the pines are fairly close together, but they tend to be in small clusters, providing sporadic cover from the air. In the distance can be heard the sounds of combat, especially artillery shells which seem to be exploding across the whole state; the ground shakes periodically, sending a sprinkle of dry pine needles to the valley floor.

"What's going on?"

X4:

After the first two Havocs come through the t-port, Delacroix just starts nodding back instead of offering a full greeting. He indicates the ordinance with a wave of his hand.

"The ammo is much appreceated, sergeant; as to your question, I'm not quite sure. The only thing we do know is that someone's playin' games in our engineer's mind, so we sent Emma in to see what exactly is going on in there. He's being told to mess with the reactor, so at the very least she's trying to buy us some time."

[ezekiel]

After the first two Havocs come through the t-port, Delacroix just starts nodding back instead of offering a full greeting. He indicates the ordinance with a wave of his hand.

"The ammo is much appreceated, sergeant; as to your question, I'm not quite sure. The only thing we do know is that someone's playin' games in our engineer's mind, so we sent Emma in to see what exactly is going on in there. He's being told to mess with the reactor, so at the very least she's trying to buy us some time."

The Havoc that asked the question looks at the door

"Have any of you tried punching your way through?"

As he says this his right fist extends into a green, mean looking, spike.

[Alex Green]

End of the Road:

The mouth of the tunnel comes out in a lightly-forested valley; the pines are fairly close together, but they tend to be in small clusters, providing sporadic cover from the air. In the distance can be heard the sounds of combat, especially artillery shells which seem to be exploding across the whole state; the ground shakes periodically, sending a sprinkle of dry pine needles to the valley floor.

Vlad thinks to himself,

*No waiting troops. No bombs dropping. No way to tell if there are satellites looking down, but it looks like this is an improvement…*

*So what now? Dig to another base? Go back and expand the tunnel? Maybe wait to collapse it on the other end so we can’t be followed? Actually that sounds like a good idea.*

Slowly and more carefully, Vlad follows the trail of his tunnel back up, making it wider as he goes.

(I.e. he isn’t in the tunnel, he’s making another one that partially overlaps with it).

[Heritage]

Two miles Southwest of WS Bravo, shortly before the attack:

"Damn this truck is heavy."

Specialist Paul Sorkin crouches down next to his partner-in-crime Specialist Alvin "Zeke the Freak" Sinclair and pats him gently on the shoulder.

"Yeah, it looks pretty heavy from where I'm sitting, bud."

The two T&S scroungers had found the pickup just where they were told is was, and confirmed it was salvageable; however the jack had seen better days, and it collapsed while Zeke was working underneath, trapping both him and the rest of their tools under the truck. Sorkin was a nova and damn fast; he'd managed to partially yank Zeke's body out from under several tons of Detroit steel, but he was still trapped from the waist down. The soft earth was a blessing; if they were on pavement, Zeke would probably already be dead.

"Sork, you have any more of that morphine? I think the last shot is starting to wear off."

"Um, yeah, I think so, lemme check. Where the hell is our evac?"

Zeke sighs and looks to the east; the sky is just starting to get light, and with the peace and quiet and smell of the pine trees all around, it could almost be pleasant out here...if it wasn't for his shattered pelvis. After a bit of fumbling in his pack with his flashlight in his teeth, Sorkin finally holds up an injection ampule.

"Aha! Looks like it's the last one, though."

The scrounger stops and peers in the dark-blue sky.

"You see a weird green glow?"

(OOC: Emerald may now enter.)

[Heritage]

X4:

The Havoc that asked the question looks at the door

"Have any of you tried punching your way through?"

As he says this his right fist extends into a green, mean looking, spike.

Quick as a blink, Epstein is between Havoc and the door, the spike inches away from her face; she actually appears to have grown somewhat taller to achieve this effect.

"There's a bomb! Lots of bombs, all over the door on his side! If they blow, coolant from the reactor kills us all with radioactive steam. Emma's trying another way."

The newly gangly Scout indicates the monitors with a nod; the Badgers are about to start tearing through the escape doors.

"Maybe you can help us with the tunneling robot tanks or something?"

Colby nods grimly.

"The weapons are great, but a helpful clone would be....well, helpful."

Meanwhile Emma still stands by the door peering through the portal, entranced.

(Link to X4 layout and tunnel description.)

[ezekiel]

X4:

Quick as a blink, Epstein is between Havoc and the door, the spike inches away from her face; she actually appears to have grown somewhat taller to achieve this effect.

"There's a bomb! Lots of bombs, all over the door on his side! If they blow, coolant from the reactor kills us all with radioactive steam. Emma's trying another way."

The newly gangly Scout indicates the monitors with a nod; the Badgers are about to start tearing through the escape doors.

"Maybe you can help us with the tunneling robot tanks or something?"

Colby nods grimly.

"The weapons are great, but a helpful clone would be....well, helpful."

Meanwhile Emma still stands by the door peering through the portal, entranced.

"Yeah?"

The Havoc looks at the others and heads and they all head towards an escape door. The Havoc that was speaking looks back at Colby.

"We're going to take care of A and C. I'm going for a suicide run in B, the tunnel will collapse."

The clone looks at the floor.

"I wasn't going to last anyway..."

The Havoc looks back up

"I just wish it was more than robots that I was taking with me!"

and runs off

[Heritage]

The Valley at the End of Vlad's Tunnel:

Hood finally reaches sunlight, and finds Dr. Kat Vanderlay directing traffic as best as she can; the Pandoran is making sure people line up under the cover of the pine trees so they can be quickly scanned by medics for injuries before the next leg of their journey, wherever that maybe. Vanderlay has somehow picked up a flak vest and a large fanny pack in addition to her duffel bag; if it wasn't for her blue and black form-fitting jumpsuit, you'd think she was a Green. She smiles grimly once she spots the mysterious Scout.

"Hey lieutenant - I wasn't sure where you wanted everyone, but I figured out of sight for now was a safe bet."

She drops her duffel bag and starts braiding her long black hair into a more practical ponytail, her exhausted eyes numbly watching the rest of the mountain's inhabitants spill into the narrow valley.

"So, any ideas?"

Bravo Besieged:

Vlad returns to the warpfloor and sees the surge of humanity queuing up to hustle out through his newly-widened tunnel. By the T&S depot he spots Nomad aiding in the emergency supply distribution supervised by Master Chief Kelso. Small groups of personnel are clustered around the t-port stations, where children are the first ones being ported out. The lights are still flashing on the ceiling and the Klaxons continue their baleful keening. The last of the T&S booze-burning pickups trundles out the main tunnel, so packed with gear and personnel its driver can barely steer. A few of the dead warpers sprawl where they fell on the warp-pads, for there is no longer time for the dead.

[Alex Green]

Bravo Besieged:

Vlad pauses and takes in the goings on in Bravo station. He glances up at the top of his tunnel and evaluates the best way to collapse this end of it. After everyone is through he’ll pull the rabbit hole down. The phrase ’always burn your bridges’ comes to mind but he dismisses it. Briefly he considers widening the tunnel again, but a minor tremor in the floor changes his mind.

Vlad walks over to where Nomad and Master Chief Kelso are giving out supplies, gets a pack, and says,

“How are things going?”

[ProfPotts]

Two miles Southwest of WS Bravo, shortly before the attack:

"You see a weird green glow?"

The 'weird green glow' rapidly approaches, soon becoming a more distinct form... & what a form... ::devil an exotically attractive African-American girl, no older than twenty or so years at most, with subtle hints of Asian & even Native American ancestry in her features. Of course it's the eyes which draw an observer's attention (although they face stiff competition from the shapely, toned, curves of her body - clad as it is in nothing more than a layer of green eufiber so tight it may as well have been sprayed on... ::blush ) as her irises are filled with that same green glow.

Swooping in low over her two fellow Greens Halle 'Emerald' Jordan pulls up into a hover (unconsciously striking a dramatic pose as she does so), taking just a moment to assess the scene, then gently alights next to the pair. Smiling to Specialist Sorkin, she crouches next to Specialist Sinclair, casting her eyes over the collapsed truck & his injuries, trying to assess how best to safely move him without further aggravating his injuries. Even as she does so, however, she starts to chat away in an upbeat tone,

'Hey heroes,' she begins, 'you didn't have to set all this up just to lure lil' ol' me into the woods you know... You could have just asked!' ::wink Smiling down at Sinclair she adds, '& look at you, soldier - lying down on the job! There is a war on you know!' ::biggrin

Emerald looks up at the truck as two translucent tendrils of green light snake out from her body to slip underneath the vehicle, where they twist & warp into the form of a pair industrial jacks. Before lifting the truck, however, she lays a hand gently on Sinclair's shoulder & smiles at him again,

'Looks like you'll have a nice impressive scar to show all those nurses you'll be chasing...' she jokes - as she speaks a ring of glowing green light passes up her body, from her toes to her head, altering her eufiber as it passes. In that blink of an eye Emerald's outfit becomes a rather naughty nurse's outfit, complete with stockings & suspenders. Glancing down at herself the young Nova feints a sigh, '... now look what you've done,' she gently chids, 'whatever you do - don't think about me naked!'

Half a second later the glowing green jacks extend & haul the vehicle off the pinned man. Simultaneously emerald green tendrils wrap around Sinclair's broken body, altering form into tight-fitting 'mummy' bandages as they do so, trying to prevent any further damage or blood-loss from removing the offending truck...

[tooho]

X4 – Hold Up in the Reactor

Emma’s blue dilated eyes remain unseeing. Her face, pale by even her standards is tense with the strain. Trying to block the echoes of voices and memories resounding in Jubersky’s fractured mind, she doesn’t allow a single whisper past. Wrapping her consciousness around his mind and body, when she feels the whispers and demands fading from his mind she begins building a wall to protect his will.

Her voice rings clear and concise through the chaos. Jubey, listen to my voice. Listen to just me. We’re under attack, Jubersky. The enemy is trying to use you to destroy your friends, your home, your life. Do they have that right, Jubey? Do we cede to the enemy? They are going to kill your family, Jubersky. But it’s not their hands that will be bloody. It’s yours. They are turning our minds against us. Fight it, Jubey. Disarm this bomb, and help me kick their @ss for trying to steal our will. We’ll get them, Jubey, for all the men and women and CHILDREN they’ve slaughtered. You have to stand against them today. You have to fight, Jubersky. We need you. Your family needs you. Disarm the bomb and help me protect the home we have left. They aren’t going to take anything else from us. Disarm the bomb and come out, Jubersky.

Fingers jabbing deep into her palm, Emma concentrates all her will into Jubersky’s mind. “Disarm the bomb.”

[Asbjørn]

"Hey lieutenant - I wasn't sure where you wanted everyone, but I figured out of sight for now was a safe bet."

"You figured right." Hood nods, patting Vanderlay on the shoulder as he comes up to her.

She drops her duffel bag and starts braiding her long black hair into a more practical ponytail, her exhausted eyes numbly watching the rest of the mountain's inhabitants spill into the narrow valley.

"So, any ideas?"

"Plenty."

The scout stretches his wiry frame briefly, looking around and taking stock of the situation, mentally filing numbers, ranks, medical conditions, terrain, weapons and supplies to help him reach the right decision when it's time to move. Addressing Vanderlay and whoever else he can see of sergeants and corporals he starts giving orders, directing each order to a different noncom if there are enough of them.

"Get them organized in crews and distribute any leftover personell among them. No units above ten if we have the leaders for it. Have all heavy hitters - novas and heavy weapons people - distributed as equally as possible and have each crew leader report his or her resources to me. Put a heavily armed watch there and there..." he points out the best spots for defense and watch purposes.

"...and somebody find a f*cking captain. I can't be the ranking officer here...."

The seasoned scout speaks quickly, but not in a hurry, as he gives his orders. His voice is calm, his gaze steady as he looks each man and woman in the eye to make sure they get it right.

[Heritage]

Krakatoa, Southwest of Bravo:

'Hey heroes,' she begins, 'you didn't have to set all this up just to lure lil' ol' me into the woods you know... You could have just asked!' ::wink Smiling down at Sinclair she adds, '& look at you, soldier - lying down on the job! There is a war on you know!' ::biggrin

The two scroungers are nearly speechless at Emerald’s arrival.

"Hey, the cavalry is here. The very sexy cavalry…"

"Um, Zeke’s under a truck…which, I guess you can see.”

'Looks like you'll have a nice impressive scar to show all those nurses you'll be chasing...' she jokes - as she speaks a ring of glowing green light passes up her body, from her toes to her head, altering her eufiber as it passes. In that blink of an eye Emerald's outfit becomes a rather naughty nurse's outfit, complete with stockings & suspenders. Glancing down at herself the young Nova feints a sigh, '... now look what you've done,' she gently chids, 'whatever you do - don't think about me naked!'

"You know, this is kind of unfair, seeing as I’m, y’know, kinda pinned down there. Oww…”

The truck is effortlessly raised off of the hapless scrounger, and both men grin and sigh with relief. Suddenly Sorkin stops and holds his hand to his helmet.

”Hey guys, Bebe back at base said some kinda crazy shit is going, something about a psychic attack or – wait, Chimera’s getting on the radio, let me turn this all the way up.”

He put his helmet on the ground between them and leans in to listen; though the sound quality is poor and tinny, General Chimera is speaking, and the mixture of fear and shame in the nova's voice raises the hair on the back of your neck.

"-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!' "

Hackney spits out one last threat as he's being dragged away from the microphone.

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

For a moment, both scroungers are dead silent; finally Sorkin breaks the spell.

”Holy shit.”

In the distance, back in the direction of Bravo, an explosion can be heard.

(OOC: Which is the sound of the first artillery barrage hitting the mountain, just to show where we are time-wise.)

[Heritage]

8th Battalion HQ:

All the children are now safely (if that's the right word) t-ported into the battle-damaged C&C of the 8th HQ. Kapriski has ported back to Bravo to help with the organization on that side, leaving Rourke and Dr Hawthorne as the only adults with the kids for now. Little Julia is still looking blankly over at the t-port she just watched her father disappear through.

"Why did he go?"

Dr. Hawthorne drapes a protective arm over her narrow shoulders.

"Your daddy is trying to make us all safe; he's going to make us all safe. He's going to be a hero."

The young girl looks up at the nova counselor with tears in her big eyes.

"But he can make more! Why didn't he just make another daddy, to stay with me?"

Hawthorne looks like she might tear up herself, despite her best efforts.

"I don't know, sweetheart; I don't know how your daddy's powers work, but I'm sure he has limits, things he can and can't do, just like all novas. Just like all people."

The beautiful dark-skinned nova drops down to her knees and hugs Julia, then indicates Rourke as he continues gathering supplies and giving each of the children a gentle pat on the shoulder as he passes them.

"But me and Mr Rourke are gonna keep you safe, safe until your daddy gets back, and then you will be together, and he will never let you go again. I can feel it."

When Rourke is nearby, Hawthorne softly calls out to him.

"Where to now? Any ideas?"

From underneath the doctor's warm embrace, a muffled voice can be heard.

"I want to see Lynn; she'll turn into a monster and eat the bad men, so Daddy can come back."

[Heritage]

Bravo Besieged:

Vlad pauses and takes in the goings on in Bravo station. He glances up at the top of his tunnel and evaluates the best way to collapse this end of it. After everyone is through he’ll pull the rabbit hole down. The phrase ’always burn your bridges’ comes to mind but he dismisses it. Briefly he considers widening the tunnel again, but a minor tremor in the floor changes his mind.

Vlad walks over to where Nomad and Master Chief Kelso are giving out supplies, gets a pack, and says,

“How are things going?”

Kelso the paunchy master chief looks at Vlad in disbelief.

"'How's it going?' 'How's it going?!' How the f@ck do you think it's going, you goddamned tunnel rat! We are just about out of ammo here, and I'm sending my boys out into battle with Power Bars and a Swiss Army knife!"

His chokes back tears, his face red and contorted with anguish; it's obvious he's been running on adrenelin all morning, and this is the first time he's stopped long enough for it all to really sink in. After a few seconds, he wipes his eyes and shakes off his moment of despair.

"No time, no time for this."

He looks over his shoulder, back into the wide open door of the depot with its nearly empty shelves and a handful of pack rats still darting between them, then looks back to Nomad and Vlad.

"Okay, what do you two need? We're running low, but we'll see what we can do."

He looks at Vlad, then indicates the tunnel with a flick of his eyes.

"And thank you, for that."

[Heritage]

The Sky over Bravo:

Sarah restrains the urge to yell at Bunko (my fault, anyway) and scans the horizons for new threats.

A voice crackles over Sarah's headset.

"We have four inbound bogies coming in from the northeast; you should just about see 'em now."

And indeed, four contrails can be seen about three miles off, coming in fast...

[ProfPotts]

”Holy shit.”

For an African-American girl, Emerald goes extremely pale. For a moment she just stares at the radio headset, blinking occassionally ::blink , then she looks over at the two scroungers - although it's touch or go as to whether she actually registers them or not...

'Bledsoe?' she asks, dumbly - he voice little more than a whisper, 'Blackstar suit, spectra-goggles, Vader fetish.... that Bledsoe? But he... it was him who pulled me from the Throne mission... sent me... into...'

The green glow in Emerald's eyes intensifies into a raging inferno as her expression changes from muted disbelief to barely contained anger - all the pieces seeming to suddenly fall into place in her mind. Hands clenching into fists at her sides the pulse of green light once more passes down her body, this time changing the suit from whimsical fantasy wear into an all-too functional looking (though still curve-fitting) dark green jumpsuit.

'Damn him!' the Nova fairly spits the words through clenched teeth - as she does so the translucent green glow reforms around her body, taking a form reminiscent of some type of Manga-inspired hi-tech combat armour. [Activating Force Field]

In the distance, back in the direction of Bravo, an explosion can be heard.

Emerald's head snaps round in the direction of the blast, anger replaced, in an instant, by an expression of concern, disbelief, & fear,

'My God...' she whispers, '... they can't... all those people... there are children in there...' ::ohmy

The Nova starts to rise into the air, heading towards the mountain [Activating Flight], then pauses &, still hovering, turns back to the two scroungers (almost as if she'd only just recalled they were there),

'I... uh... I have to go,' she says, sounding apologetic, 'you guys...' for a moment she glances back in the direction of the mountain, her words catching in her throat - then her fists clench tighter & her shoulders square as she concludes, '... you guys will be okay. Get off the road, keep your heads down - I'll...' again, for a moment, her voice wavers, '... I'll be back to get you... If I can. Just...' this time she manages to look at her two fellow Greens, & forces herself to offer a winning smile, '... just don't get yourselves killed, okay? After all, I'm thinking you both owe me at least a dinner date now, right?' ::wink

Unconvinced by her own efforts to lighten the mood Emerald turns & flies off low & fast, towards the action, before she lets the two men see the terror - for herself, but mostly for her new family - which now clutches at her heart.

[Alex Green]

Bravo Besieged:

Vlad blinks and says to Kelso,

"Oh, whatever you want to give me would be fine. I meant... we're on my turf down here. After everyone’s through that tunnel I'll collapse it. I’m wondering if I shouldn’t be collapsing other tunnels as well."

[Prince of Boredom]

He looks over his shoulder, back into the wide open door of the depot with its nearly empty shelves and a handful of pack rats still darting between them, then looks back to Nomad and Vlad.

"Okay, what do you two need? We're running low, but we'll see what we can do."

Following Kelso's eyes, John notices that the depot is nearly empty. Taking a couple of quick steps to the edge of Vlad's tunnel, he places his hand on the bare stone. A moment passes, and John's flesh has turned to stone. He quickly makes his way back to Vlad and Kelso.

"Load me up Master Chief, I should be able to carry what's left. Once we get it outside we can distribute it."

[BlueNinja]

Bravo Besieged:

Kelso the paunchy master chief looks at Vlad in disbelief.

"'How's it going?' 'How's it going?!' How the f@ck do you think it's going, you goddamned tunnel rat! We are just about out of ammo here, and I'm sending my boys out into battle with Power Bars and a Swiss Army knife!"

His chokes back tears, his face red and contorted with anguish; it's obvious he's been running on adrenelin all morning, and this is the first time he's stopped long enough for it all to really sink in. After a few seconds, he wipes his eyes and shakes off his moment of despair.

"No time, no time for this."

He looks over his shoulder, back into the wide open door of the depot with its nearly empty shelves and a handful of pack rats still darting between them, then looks back to Nomad and Vlad.

"Okay, what do you two need? We're running low, but we'll see what we can do."

He looks at Vlad, then indicates the tunnel with a flick of his eyes.

"And thank you, for that."

Judy walks in, just in time to hear the tirade. Her eyes are almost sparking, knowing she's been pushing herself to the limit with her engineering, trying to get everyone out of the area. She pulls herself up to ragged attention in front of the chief. "Master Chief, Senior Specialist Kapriski reporting." She glances at the shelves. "I can create ammo, if we need it - but it's not going to last more than an hour or two. Which hopefully will be enough. Otherwise, point me at what's broken, so I can try and get us the fuck out of here." She pauses, and blinks, the silver lines in her eyes glinting. "Pardon my French."

[Heritage]

Vlad's Valley Retreat:

"Get them organized in crews and distribute any leftover personnel among them. No units above ten if we have the leaders for it. Have all heavy hitters - novas and heavy weapons people - distributed as equally as possible and have each crew leader report his or her resources to me. Put a heavily armed watch there and there..." he points out the best spots for defense and watch purposes.

"...and somebody find a f*cking captain. I can't be the ranking officer here...."

The NCOs and enlisted men hop to it, and start organizing the group into small teams with a mixture of personnel to allow for independent action, and watch teams are quickly drawn up and hustle to their new positions; for the moment, the focus on right now, on living through the next minute, keeps things running smoothly. The search for a higher ranking officer continues. Kat steps over to Hood, a little warily; someone has thoughtfully provided her with an RA-issue G1, which she's slung over her shoulder.

"Hey, I...I heard about what happened to THRONE. I know what that means to you, about getting you back home."

She drops her duffel bag on the ground and starts digging through it.

"But I want you to remember something. Back on your world, before Galatea, you had Star Wars, right? These three goofy space movies, with little Muppets in the woods and everything? Ah, here we go!"

The attractive Pandoran smiles in satisfaction as she rises, slapping a dark blue baseball cap back into shape.

"Remember the words of Master Yoda-"

She pulls on the Toronto Maple Leafs cap as she smiles cryptically.

"'There is another.'"

Suddenly there's a shout from the edge of the impromptu 'camp'.

"Sir, we've got incoming! Some sort of, I don't know what!"

From somewhere up in the trees, an unnerving sound can be heard, like a chorus of chuckling little girls, and there's a glint of silver...

[Heritage]

The Emerald Avenger:

At first as she makes ready to leave, Sorkin looks like he's about to read Halle the riot act, but Zeke shakes his head as he lies on the ground.

"Go, it's fine - go back to base, help out however you can, they need you there more. Don't worry, we'll figure something out."

As the glowing green nova lifts rapidly into the sky, the injured scrounger looks from Sorkin to the truck, and then back again.

"So...we're pretty much screwed."

(OOC: I'm compressing and futzing with time a little bit here to bring Halle into the fray at pretty much the same time as everyone else)

Flying towards the rising sun, Emerald is soon approaching Lookout Mountain, the home of Warpstation Bravo, and the closest thing to a home she has right now. A second wave of explosions rips the far side of the mountain, and shortly thereafter she sees a missile, it's flight path somewhat erratic, veering south and hitting another nearby peak with a blinding flash and concussive thump. Tiny figures seem to be floating in a defense formation over Lookout, and two lines of vehicles from two different exits are careening down the face of the wooded mountain as fast as possible, swerving violently to dodge the charred hulks of those unfortunate few that drove ahead. Large portions of the forest are burning, not just here but in an arc to the north all the way up the Cascade range to the end of sight; there are frequent explosions in both the air and on the ground heading back up towards the Core and beyond.

[archer]

8th Battalion HQ:

When Rourke is nearby, Hawthorne softly calls out to him.

"Where to now? Any ideas?"

Rourke glances around the room, thinking. Hiding his worry behind that great beard, he considers the few options available. He looks back at Hawthorne, keeping his voice positive and in control. "First thing we need is more people over here to help out," he says, indicating the kids with his eyes, "so I'm going to head to the t-ports and get on the radio to Bravo, have them start sending more folk over. In the meantime, why don't you and the kids start making up some goodie-bags of useful items in case we have to walk out of here. I've already arranged most of the supplies available into categories, all you have to do is arrange them into any kind of pack or bag you can find." He looks around at all the kids, raising his voice a little so they can all hear him. "Okay, kids...I'm going to go talk on the radio for a few minutes, and then I'll be right back. I've got a project for all of you, and Dr. Hawthorne's going to try and help, so you show her how to do it right." He smiles to indicate the joke. Then he points at all the piles of supplies he's gathered around the room. "We need to put all that stuff into bags, but I can't find the bags! So I need all of you to look around in here and find bags, then bring them to Dr. Hawthorne! But, you have to stay in this room to do it. Alright, whoever finds the most bags, or the most somethings that can be used as a bag, that person gets a treat when I get back. Hop to it!"

Waiting just for a moment to see if the kids take the initiative, he then quietly walks out the door and to the radio in the T-Ports room. He finds the last frequency setting Judy had used, and activates the mic. "Attention, attention, calling Warpstation Bravo. This is Rourke, here with Dr. Hawthorne. We need personnel here. Send your wounded and any medical people you've got along with them. We have supplies to treat the wounded. Standing by to receive."

[Heritage]

X4 – Inside the Reactor Room

Jubey, listen to my voice. Listen to just me. We’re under attack, Jubersky. The enemy is trying to use you to destroy your friends, your home, your life. Do they have that right, Jubey? Do we cede to the enemy? They are going to kill your family, Jubersky. But it’s not their hands that will be bloody. It’s yours. They are turning our minds against us. Fight it, Jubey. Disarm this bomb, and help me kick their @ss for trying to steal our will. We’ll get them, Jubey, for all the men and women and CHILDREN they’ve slaughtered. You have to stand against them today. You have to fight, Jubersky. We need you. Your family needs you. Disarm the bomb and help me protect the home we have left. They aren’t going to take anything else from us. Disarm the bomb and come out, Jubersky.

Inside Jubersky's head, Emma is disturbed to find out that Jubersky is not alone; he's not possessed or being mind controlled in the usual sense, but he's in fact struggling to overcome some sort of artificial control system wired into his body. In essence, he has two nervous systems: one organic, controlled by his own brain, and one synthetic, apparently controlled by a highly-advanced Sufficient Intelligence mini-processor surgically grafted onto his cerebral cortex. The barrage of voices is acting as a sort of 'emotional static' to weaken his resistance to the SI's commands.

Emma's telepathy does not allow her to wrest control of his mind or body away from the SI, but her inner voice is capable of bypassing all the other synthetic voices and speak to the core of the Engineer's being on an intimate level, almost acting as a conscience or cartoon angel on his shoulder.

“Disarm the bomb.”

Jubersky's mind calmly responds to Emma's fervent command.

*It's not quite that easy, Emma. The synthetic portions of my brain, the parts that were implanted by the Army to make me smarter, are the parts that allow me to build things and take them apart. Those parts always respond to my wishes, processing the long strings of computations necessary to make my dreams a reality; if I could visualize something, the computer drew up the specs in an instant, and told my body what to do to build it. The relationship was fully symbiotic, but now it's telling me it's in charge, and my muscles won't listen to my brain. I can make myself do the task slower, or try to mess them up somehow, but I don't think I can prevent them completely. Also I think that the muscles in my arms and legs are starting to deteriorate under the strain of receiving two sets of competing instructions; I'm actually in a great deal of physical pain right now.*

And Emma can sense that the Engineer's movements have started to take on a sort of drunken, spastic quality as he lurches about the reactor room flicking switches and adjusting knobs like a crude marionette.

*I think I can buy you and the others about five minutes, but that's about it; I really want to thank you for all the effort you're putting into trying to save my life, but I don't think there's going to be too much to save soon. It's getting hard to breathe, which I think means the fight has moved into my autonomic nervous system; if it turns off my lungs, I'll be dead fairly quickly.*

Jubersky suddenly steps right up to the porthole, causing Lynn to jump back in shock; one side of his face is drooping slightly, as if he's suffered a stroke. With obvious effort, he pulls the right side of his face into a crooked smile as he pushes the intercom button; his voice is slightly slurred.

"Yu've all been very goob to me, even when you zhink you haven' - jus eadding wif you, dinking coffee an hearin you talk."

Tears are forming in his eyes.

"You may me feel...like a person."

The doomed Engineer looks back over his shoulder at the reactor, and then back to the porthole.

"You shud go now."

He places a quivering hand on the glass for a moment, then disappears back into the gloom.

[Heritage]

Bravo Beseiged:

Kelso looks at the three novas who have offered to help him, and laughs a bit self-consciously.

"Well, what do you know - now I'm the popular kid in school."

He swings his arm back to take in the rest of the sparsely-filled shelves.

"Take it all, be my guest; the one thing we're not short of is bags and boxes, so stuff 'em full of Christmas cheer and then I want to see taillights. Simmons, Morrison, help the super freaks pack!"

Two young packrats step forward to assist the novas in their task. As they begin sorting and stuffing, a voice can be heard coming from the radio at the northern t-port station nearby; its operator is gone, either t-ported himself or down one of the tunnels.

"Attention, attention, calling Warpstation Bravo. This is Rourke, here with Dr. Hawthorne. We need personnel here. Send your wounded and any medical people you've got along with them. We have supplies to treat the wounded. Standing by to receive."

[ProfPotts]

... Tiny figures seem to be floating in a defense formation over Lookout, and two lines of vehicles from two different exits are careening down the face of the wooded mountain as fast as possible, swerving violently to dodge the charred hulks of those unfortunate few that drove ahead...

For a moment Halle considers doing something crazy like trying to locate the enemy & deal with them... but the sight of the evacuating vehicles quickly snaps her thoughts back to what's really important. Instead she decides to do something else crazy...

'Damn!' the Emerald Nova exclaims to herself, reaching out in all directions with her powers as she continues to fly low into the scene, translucent green tendrils grasping & lifting anything & everthing of any substance which can be lifted & moving it overhead into as large & thick an 'umbrella' as can be formed. Knowing that, although she can lift a lot, she can't move it terribly fast, Emerald does her best to build as much of an overhead barrier as she can before she - & it - interpose between her Green friends & the rain of artillery...

[Activating - you guessed it - MIRV Telekinesis on pretty much anything which she can: wrecked vehicles, boulders, trees, etc. (anything under a ton each shouldn't be an issue) & forming a barrier to (hopefully) cause the incoming shells to detonate before they hit anything too Green. She'd like to make the thing a dome with a 60 meter radius from her, but I somehow doubt that she's got the time to do anything like that - so she'll do the best she can.]

[tooho]

X4 – Outside the Reactor Room

Tears are forming in his eyes.

"You may me feel...like a person."

The doomed Engineer looks back over his shoulder at the reactor, and then back to the porthole.

"You shud go now."

He places a quivering hand on the glass for a moment, then disappears back into the gloom.

2nd Lieutenant Emma Majors fights tears as she places her slim hand against his, seperated by a cold glass. I'm sorry we couldn't do more, Jube. We'll never forget you.

Pushing, red tendrils of hair back as she faces the reactor door, she quickly and efficiently pulls her gear back on. Blue eyes flash, as she heads toward Delacroix on the run. Sliding her fingers beneath the badge proclaiming her Intelligence, her face struggles before she rips it off, and slides it into a pocket. The eufiber quickly reknits to leave a blank patch of black in its place.

"Sir, Jube can only give us five minutes to evacuate. I truly don't believe terminating will end the threat from that end. Whatever's been done to the Reactor isn't likely to be easily fixed and with the base under attack, holding back an incursion and trying to stave off an all-out meltdown, seems more than even we can handle. I suggest we headout to take down the moles with remote controls and turn those badgers back on the invading force, or t-port out and back up another base that could use reinforcements. Either way, with our base disabled, other bases down or out, and little chance to resupply, I don't have much hope for X-4. If we can take out those moles in charge of the badgers, we have might be able to turn them back on those @ssholes, but we won't have any guarantee X-4 will be habitable once we've quelled the incursion. So its crunch time. Go or stay?"

[Heritage]

The Sinking Ship That Is X4:

"Sir, Jube can only give us five minutes to evacuate. I truly don't believe terminating will end the threat from that end. Whatever's been done to the Reactor isn't likely to be easily fixed and with the base under attack, holding back an incursion and trying to stave off an all-out meltdown, seems more than even we can handle. I suggest we headout to take down the moles with remote controls and turn those badgers back on the invading force, or t-port out and back up another base that could use reinforcements. Either way, with our base disabled, other bases down or out, and little chance to resupply, I don't have much hope for X-4. If we can take out those moles in charge of the badgers, we have might be able to turn them back on those @ssholes, but we won't have any guarantee X-4 will be habitable once we've quelled the incursion. So its crunch time. Go or stay?"

As Emma has been talking, the captain has taken the three available laser batteries and connected them in series, slung them together with a Cobra harness, and thrown the whole mass over his broad shoulders in awkward mass of reinforced canvas straps and dense polycarbonate blocks that has to weigh a few hundred pounds. When he's finished, he looks around the C&C at the haggard faces, the images of the dozens of Badgers waiting outside the tunnels, and the large stack of weapons and gear the various Havocs have piled next to the t-port. At last, he looks at the darkened porthole on the reactor room door, and for a moment he just leans forward with his head bowed; a few seconds later, his head snaps back up and he sighs.

"I'm gonna miss that comfy-ass chair in the break room. Ok, I know my man Havoc and his many brothers just dumped this shit off here, but Em's right, this is not the place to make a stand; too many factors, too much attention. Our best bet is to take this gear and head back to Battalion HQ, since it sounds like Joey and his traitorous backstabbing buddies think their work is done there. Daniels, I want you on the Path to 8th, make sure we still control it - no sense leaving one trap for another. Lt. Griffin, I want you to fly up the observation shaft and get a lay of the land; get ready to provide us with some air support, but if you see someone who needs you more than we do, then by all means go help 'em out. It's been a pleasure serving with you."

Griffin, still in his impressive 'Battletech' form, nods and grimly salutes the group, then enters the OP shaft, ratcheting the door closed behind him. Delacroix stands and saunters over to the gear pile.

"Everybody else, grab what you can from this stack of goodies, and make ready to head through the t-port single file the instant Daniels gives us the go-ahead."

He plugs the fat black powercord into his anti-tank laser, which whines to life, then hefts a Cobra’s loaded Bulldog with his off-hand.

“We’re gonna go for a walk.”

The rest of the X4 crew load up to the point of near collapse, eager to make it through the t-port and drop their loads the minute they hit the other side. Daniels gets on the Path to 8th HQ.

“This is Corporal Daniels of Base X4. We need to evac, and want to know if you can use our help; it’s getting a little crowded over here, and we’d love to stretch our legs and come visit.”

From down the tunnels come the sounds of muffled explosions and shredding metal; it sounds like the Havocs have their hands full as well.

(OOC: Obviously Daniel's call can be heard by anyone in the Battalion HQ C&C, such as Rourke and Hawthorne.)

[archer]

The Sinking Ship That Is X4:

Daniels gets on the Path to 8th HQ.

“This is Corporal Daniels of Base X4. We need to evac, and want to know if you can use our help; it’s getting a little crowded over here, and we’d love to stretch our legs and come visit.”

From down the tunnels come the sounds of muffled explosions and shredding metal; it sounds like the Havocs have their hands full as well.

The voice on the other end at 8th sounds relieved. "This Rourke, of, uh...8th Battalion Headquarters. Location is clear and secure, Corporal. We sure could use that help you're offering. Standing by for transport."

[tooho]

Hasta La Vista X4

Nearly buckling under as much gear as she can carry, which isn't all that much, the red-headed, blue-eyed Emma Majors waits for the lower ranks to port over safely before trudging over to the 8th. As she looks on it for the last time, she says a silent goodbye. "It was nice knowin' ya, kid."

As soon as she's off the t-port, she looks around. "Hmm, first question, where do you need the supplies? Second, where's the nearest @ss? I feel like kickin' butt."

[Prince of Boredom]

Bravo Beseiged:

"Take it all, be my guest; the one thing we're not short of is bags and boxes, so stuff 'em full of Christmas cheer and then I want to see taillights. Simmons, Morrison, help the super freaks pack!"

Two young packrats step forward to assist the novas in their task. As they begin sorting and stuffing, a voice can be heard coming from the radio at the northern t-port station nearby; its operator is gone, either t-ported himself or down one of the tunnels.

The Nomad accepts the help from his fellow packrats and loads his now stone form with as much as he can carry. On his way out the tunnel, he hears from down the hall,

"Attention, attention, calling Warpstation Bravo. This is Rourke, here with Dr. Hawthorne. We need personnel here. Send your wounded and any medical people you've got along with them. We have supplies to treat the wounded. Standing by to receive."

Turning back, he points to the packrats, "I've gotta get this stuff to the people outside, you two head over to help."

He then lumbers his way down the tunnel to freedon... hopefully.

[Alex Green]

Bravo Beseiged:

Turning back, he points to the packrats, "I've gotta get this stuff to the people outside, you two head over to help."

He then lumbers his way down the tunnel to freedon... hopefully.

Vlad says,

"I'm staying with the refugees and the tunnel. Someone will have to collapse the tunnel behind them and someone will have to dig a new one for them to the next destination."

Vlad will pack up what he can and concentrate on food if possible.