• Starpath: Scoundrels of the Interstellar Highway - Thread 2
    3,232 replies, posted
"[Time to wake up,]" ordered Marinaya in a voice devoid of empathy as she roused Arkadam from his anesthesia-induced slumber. "[How do you feel?]" Arkadam took some time to respond. His head was pounding and everything on his face felt swollen and numb, but thanks to the advances of science and medicine wrought by the endless cycle of war, disfigurement, reconstruction and reenlistment- the eternal war economy, the kanads had successfully installed the first prosthetic foundations of Arkadam's new face. His tongue laid limp in a foul-tasting, latex-like groove, surrounded on each side by a row of gold-plated teeth. There was a sound of mechanical whirring and clicking as he tenderly opened and closed the new jaw, and some odd tingling just under his cheekbones that shouldn't have been there. He could smell lots of blood, as well, but he wasn't sure how much was in his mouth. His sense of touch was vague, at best. "[I can't tell,]" he croaked. "[I don't know what you did...]" Marinaya smiled, unabashedly proud of her work as she pulled a mirror around for Arkadam to see. To his great surprise, his left arm had already been released from the bindings while he was sleeping, and he was able to angle the mirror as he wished. One he caught sight of himself, he broke down into self-loathing. Everything below the cheekbones had been removed by the surgeons, including the cheeks themselves, and replaced by very mechanical-looking prosthetic pieces which moved about in an eerie and unnatural way. The doctor patted him on the shoulder. "[When it's finished, it will look real. Well, real enough for a condemned man, that is... In any case-]" Marinaya paused as she noticed Arkadam angling the mirror to the side so that he could get a better view of Yanim on the next table over, out of arm's reach. The white-clad surgeon from before was continuing to operate with her mechanical hand at the same time she gripped his fiance's head with her other hand, staring her dead in the eyes as she did her work. There was a massive fissure leading down the center of Yanim's naked torso, which the robotic hand was continuing to stitch closed as Gataska interrogated her for more basic answers. On one of the tables behind them, he could just barely make out a large bin of some sort, filled to the brim with what appeared to be entrails. Marinaya snatched the mirror away. "[She'll live, and that's all you need to know,]" she snapped. Arkadam was too busy holding back the urge to vomit to ask any questions, anyway. The doors at the end of the room swung open, and another gurney was wheeled in by a group of attendants. Ryvik was halfway sitting up, slightly curled into the only position comfortable for his injured body, when he saw the criminal he had been chasing relentlessly and the lover she brought along. "[Doctor,]" he called to Marinaya, "[I want the chance to speak with her before she's sent back to Kanadys,]" he pleaded. Before Marinaya had the chance to reply, Yanim cried out in shock at the sound of her brother's voice, so powerfully that Gataska released her grip on Yanim's head. "[Not now, lieutenant!]" Marinaya blasted. "[We're trying to save lives here!]" Yanim screamed again, even louder the second time. "[What the fuck did you do!?]" She had caught sight of Arkadam's reconstruction. When she began to thrash about, it took both Gataska and Marinaya both to keep her from escaping the bindings on the operating table, both shocked at the renegade's sudden descent into panic after holding it together for so long. "[Yanim!]" Arkadam yelled. "[YANIM!]" He repeated it several times until his voice commanded her attention. "[I'm okay, dearest. I know it looks bad, but I'm going to be okay.]" He couldn't elaborate on his condition any further, because he didn't know the truth of it. But he feared for Yanim's life as she writhed on the operating table, a bladed hand hovering just above her burned and lacerated skin. Yanim fell into despair. "[No, no, no, no!]" she begged, hoping that Starvis would somehow materialize and prove this scene to be yet another illusion. Ryvik felt a chilling sense of dread wash over him. In his years of chasing his sister around, he had never imagined such a grotesque outcome. He had imagined her as strident, devious, twisted, perhaps. He imagined cornering her and forcing her to chose between surrender to the law, or an honorable death at his own hands. He wouldn't have made her suffer like this. Even if the lawful authorities had taken her on Kanadys and tortured her, he could never imagine it sinking to these depths. And truth be told, the torture hadn't even begun yet. He had a growing urge to do something, but he wasn't sure what it was. --- Vixe entered the ground floor of the hospital to find herself surrounded by wounded soldiers from the night's battle, all trickling in to be treated for their various injuries. Flashing her officer's badge allowed her to bypass the line, eliciting jeers from the Peacekeepers and even the batakya soldiers as she stepped into an elevator and set course for a surgical center within the building, not far from the medbay where Yanim, Arkadam, and Ryvik had been deposited. When the doors opened, she shuffled into the dim hallway, still darkened to allow sleeping patients some rest in their private rooms. She had only taken a few steps, the silvery elevator doors closing behind her, when she witnessed an eerie blue glow from beyond a distant corner. She thought for sure she saw a monster's shadow against the wall before the light disappeared again... ((That's it for me tonight.))
János memorized the coordinates Taylor had 'sent' them, and listened on as Ravis responded, before Constantine, Neasha, Owen and Orso suddenly joined in the chat, and greatly enlarged the rescue plan. "So, let us just get our plan straight," he stated, as he attempted to compact everything said into an organized plan, "we have Ravis, accompanied by some drones, with, ehm, ex-Boome backup, making their way towards Vostokrebh in order to rescue the captured. Owen, with the Cataract, flies towards Vostokrebh to act as a red herring, distracting the Peacekeeper MPR-70s that are defending the base. The Khergians move up their artillery, and using the opportunity provided by Owen, fire upon the base, shocking the Kanads with a barrage, allowing Ravis and co. to slip in, as the captors are shocked and distracted. Then, when the time is right, the Cascade swoops in and picks up everyone at the base," he summarized. "If that's the plan as agreed upon, that only leaves the Cascade's pilot. Ravis can't man it, since he's out doing his part, which only leaves someone from the crew who is still at the Aurikha..." he rubbed his chin, "if we figure that out and confirm this plan, I can then contact the Khergians."
Jason suddenly popped in the rescue team's chat. "Hello? János. Maybe I can help, Somehow. I was thinking of going in there myself, but the problem got way too out of hand. so I had to pull back. I'm gonna need some new orders." ((Jesus, I haven't posted at all these past months. Procrastinating and being lazy is a bad habit ))
János rubbed his chin for a minute, attempting to think of someone that could pilot the Cascade that wasn't himself, as he didn't want to accidentally compromise the mission with his own possible emotions. He eliminated Squish, Amelia, Bucky, Ahaz, Mattheus and Aaron immediately, since they would be of more use here. Silvia, Porter, Hariim, and possibly Hestia and Mercy, all popped to mind when it came to possible pilots or accompaniment to the pilot, but he hadn't heard of them in a while. He switched to rubbing his forehead for a second, before another voice suddenly joined in. "W-what, Jason?!" János said, surprised to see that the gunner was still with them. He pondered for a moment about how he could be still here when he appeared earlier to join the mission with that truck of his, but remembered that he was still working on the truck when he arrived, and the truck itself didn't look to be in the best shape. It probably broke down or something before he could even join. Nevertheless, he responded quickly. "Uhm, uh, yeah! If you've been listening, you'd know that we have an open slot for the rescue mission, the vacant pilot seat of the Cascade! If everything goes according to plan, the Cascade would swoop in and pick up everyone at the base after Ravis and co. slip in and help out those captured," he explained to Jason, "what do you guys say?" he asked the others in the chat.
"Does Mr. Jason have experience in piloting such a craft?" asked Eve, still standing nearby. "I would hope so, lest he drive the Cascade into the snow attempting to rescue the crew."
Hearing Eve's comment in the background made Jason snicker for a bit before responding to the hand-held comms device. "As much as I want to fly the big hunk of metal. I don't want to risk it by accidentally smashing that ship into a nearby building. I could work on securing the LZ though."
"Since there are no volunteers on the matter, then, I shall pilot the Cascade. I have been researching how to pilot the craft whilst you were looking for a pilot, Mr. János. I believe I have all the information I need to conduct the retrieval of our comrades." stated Eve, after hearing Jason's statement. "If that is alright with you, then I shall proceed to the pilot's chair."
[QUOTE=jugerbro;52718455]"As much as I want to fly the big hunk of metal. I don't want to risk it by accidentally smashing that ship into a nearby building. I could work on securing the LZ though."[/QUOTE] János rubbed his chin for a second, before responding. "If that's the case, then perhaps it may be better that you head out right now and meet up with Ravis. He'd need all the help he could get." [QUOTE=Infab;52718796]"Since there are no volunteers on the matter, then, I shall pilot the Cascade. I have been researching how to pilot the craft whilst you were looking for a pilot, Mr. János. I believe I have all the information I need to conduct the retrieval of our comrades." stated Eve, after hearing Jason's statement. "If that is alright with you, then I shall proceed to the pilot's chair."[/QUOTE] He turned towards Eve after hearing her comment. "That, uhm, would be convenient, yes," he said with an assured, but still worried tone, "If possible, it would also be useful if you could see if Silvia, Porter, Hariim, Hestia, and Mercy, maybe, hm, even Amelia, are available. One of the former three could possibly join Jason in heading towards Ravis to assist him, while one of the latter two could accompany us in the Cascade for on-site medical assistance, since I'd assume our comrades would have sustained injuries of varying degrees," he told Eve. "So, ehm, if we got the pilot decided, then I'll go ahead and contact the Khergians then!" he stated boldly, as he attempted to contact them. "One, two, one, two, do you copy?" he said to see if he would get a response.
Eve turned and proceeded to send a message to any of the ones that János listed. If they responded then good. If not, then the crew would have to make due. She honestly did hope one of the medical personnel responded, as it was practically guaranteed that there were injuries or heavily wounded. [QUOTE]If you are recieving this, we are about to conduct a rescue mission to retrieve our captured fellow crew members at Vostokrebh, and we need additional crew members to join Mr. Jason and Mr. Ravis on the ground for support. There are wounded, more than likely, that will need assistance so medical personnel would be needed greatly. - Eve[/QUOTE] After sending her message, she headed towards the bridge.
Amelia sends a response: [quote]Hello, I know medical. My major is Xenobiology, but I know a great deal of treating injuries, especially keeping them stable. What do you say... new person I've never met unless my head is too brainwashed from not doing anything for a while? - Amelia[/quote] Porter also sends a message: [quote]If you need support, I'm avaliable. - Porter[/quote] (( hello friends! ))
[QUOTE]My name is Eve. I was constructed by Mistress Blackwell shortly before the crew visited the nearby town to seek out a new ship. Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Amelia. Anyway, you will be needed more onboard the Cascade when we retrieve the crew. Mr. Porter, you may assist Mr. Jason and Mr. Ravis on the ground. Mr. Jason should be just outside the Cascade. Please check team communications for more details on the matter at hand. - Eve[/QUOTE]
Porter picks Amelia up onto his back and runs for the Cascade. They didn't think about how Orso would feel about this, but they both felt they had a duty to fulfill, reguardless if it wasn't the best decision for themselves. Along the way, Porter retrieves his big case of guns, ammunition, and equipment. As they Porter dashes his way to the hanger, Amelia turns on her comm, "Jason, it's Amelia. Porter and I are on our way to the Cascade to help out. We'll be outside the Cascade, Eve told us the jist of it. And, uh, hi everyone." When they arrive outside of the Cascade in the hanger, Amelia falls off Porter's back and waves to Jason. "Hey, friend! Looks like we're all in a lil pickle, eh?" although aware of the situation, she's surprisingly calm. Cheerful, even. "I brought my stuff," Porter breathes through his mask, patting his weapons case, "We're the ground team, correct?"
"Hello, hello, anyone on the other end?" János spoke in an attempt to see if the Khergians would respond. He sighed as none came, but he remained steadfast in his attempts to contact them. However, out of the blue, Amelia popped on the team comms! "Amelia! János here. Good to see that you two are responsive!" he said in an optimistic tone. While he had initially expected Silvia and Hestia to respond, it was good to see those two getting into action. By the time he spoke once more, the two had met up with Jason. Once the three greeted one another, János repeated the abridged plan that had been agreed upon to them, pointing Jason and Porter to join Ravis, while Amelia would join Eve and him on the Cascade later on, just to make sure they were on the same page, fully informed as the rest. "If there are any questions, feel free to ask, but in the meantime, I have to keep attempting to contact the Khergians," he said, as he went back to doing so. "One, two, hello, anyone receiving this message?" he said in an attempt to garner the attention of the Khergians.
Orso looked behind him. "Wait? They're comming with you?" Orso was visibly confused with this turn of events. "Goddamn it, I'm meant to stay here so I can be security detail for you and now I send my men out there with Ravis thinking you wouldnt leave the ship."
Amelia and Porter both turn around and face Orso. Amelia thinks of sonething quick to say, something that would put him at ease... "... oops" Amelia shrugs her shoulders. Porter interjects, "You won't need to be security detail for me. It would be best for you to make sure Amelia is safe on the Cascade. Your actions weren't futile, it's going to be easier just protecting one of us as well."
((Before we continue, I'd like to sort out a small bit of confusion here that I sense in multiple posts. I had to reread some sections of the RP to confirm this, but to be clear, the Cascade is located inside the Cataract right now, which is pretty far away from the Aurikha. The Aurikha is still parked somewhere outside Stalnazyp and the Cataract is positioned at the spot where the crew deployed from earlier, outside Vostokrebh. For those of you who stayed on the Aurikha (Orso, the Boomes, Amelia, and Porter), you'll need to quickly find transportation to the battle. Eve is fine being aboard the Cascade, and the drones could realistically have been aboard as security for the Cataract in the crew's absence. I'll update for real later tonight.))
((I am rather embarrassed by that, and I feel as though I got to help in rectifying it. So, let's try to re-piece this together. We had János, Ravis, Eve, and the drones on the Cascade, which is in the Cataract, and both are at the spot where the crew deployed, outside Vostokrebh. The former two were sitting in front the comm station of the ship, allowing for a view into the Cataract's empty shuttle bay. Ravis ended up leaving the Cataract through a hatch. After János became slightly irrational, Eve entered the mix and helped out, sending the drones to help Ravis. Owen is currently piloting the Cataract, and Jason is also on the Cataract assuming his truck failed, and the latter is planned to join Ravis if this remains the case. Outside Stalnazyp, we have the Aurikha, where Constantine, Neasha, Amelia, Porter, Orso and the Boomes are currently located. After the escape operation expanded in scope, Orso fabricated a renegation as to have his men go and join Ravis, assuming transportation, mainly due to himself acting as security detail for Amelia and Porter. After Eve sent out the message to those János specified, Amelia and Porter were the first to pick up the offer, heading down towards the hanger of the Aurikha in order to prepare to head out, where they encounter Orso [and no one else]. Now they actually need to organize transportation to: 1) stop at the Cataract to drop off Amelia [and Hestia if she decides to join too]; 2) pick up Ravis, Jason and the drones on the way to Vostokrebh. The team comms is currently occupied by Ravis through his own comm line, János through the Cascade's comm station, Owen through the Cataract's cockpit?, and from the Aurikha we have Amelia and Porter on their own line, Orso on his own, and Constantine and Neasha through a shared mic; and formerly by Taylor, I assume. János, meanwhile, is attempting to contact the Khergians. The only thing I'm assuming regarding the plan now is that the Cataract would act as a red herring without the Cascade inside it, which would instead hide elsewhere, waiting for the call to swoop in and pick everyone up. And I'm assuming that's how everyone got it from the start. Did I make sense of these spacial writing errors, Sega?))
((The Cataract's hangar is open to the elements; the crew's vehicles had been parked in front of the Cascade inside the hangar and drove out directly onto the snow. Janos and Ravis, sitting in the Cascade's cockpit, have a view of the landscape which includes the distant glow of Vostokrebh, which is probably a lot brighter now due to the attack and the fires resulting. As for Jason, I stopped mentioning him when jugerbro stopped replying, so he can be wherever we need him to be. Problems with the truck is a good enough excuse I think. Everyone is on the same comm lines like a big Discord chat.)) [quote]CONSTANTINE: Sounds like we've got a workable operation here. We're in deep, but the first attack [i]did[/i] accomplish a few positives. The militia prisoners are out in the open right now; that'll make things easier if we move quickly. NEASHA: There's no way everyone's going to arrive at the same time, but I'd advise you all to move as quickly as possible. This is our last chance. CONSTANTINE: Good point on the arrival times... I think we should think of this as different teams, rather than a single team. Everyone needs to know their own task, and we have to make sure everyone's on the same page. We'll need to assign them on the fly. There's no time to lose.[/quote] Quickly, the new plan took shape. Ravis would be the first to arrive, and would use stealth via his own light-footed speed, echolocation, and gliding abilities to avoid detection, while his drones follow his orders to carry the weapons toward the plaza. Meanwhile, Owen would take to the skies and distract the Vostokrebh defense missile array, and the Cascade was already being moved out of the hangar to facilitate this. Jason was given the order to breach the base through the same route the crew had already taken, as the defenses were already disabled. He would need to wait for the ideal moment to take the plunge, as his role was to use his truck as a plow to clear debris and enemy soldiers from the landing zone. Eve and János would wait at their current location for backup to arrive from the Aurikha. They would then work together to avoid radar detection during the low-level flight to the base, as was originally planned, but would proceed all the way to the plaza where the crew was currently held. Once there, they were to deploy the troops to assist the now (hopefully) armed crew and khergian militia. The artillery on the hill would be used to attack the enemy by surprise, suppressing their ability to stop the evacuation and destroying any armored vehicles which attempted to intervene. [quote]NEASHA: There's only one problem. How do we get the Boss and Arkadam out of that hospital?[/quote] --- The attendants worked carefully to remove Ryvik's armor piece by piece, identifying, cleaning, and applying treatment to numerous wounds as they appeared. Like his sister, he was given a heavy transfusion of the ubiquitous synthblood common to most modern hospitals, which was quite reliable but dangerous in large doses, due to the lack of leukocyte cells to fight infection. Across the room, Marinaya continued to install the various delicate pieces of Arkadam's new face while casually asking the prisoner various questions about his comrades. Arkadam was mostly cooperative, as the questions were largely irrelevant and harmless. "[How long have you known Alex Koronov?]" "[Same as the rest,]" he replied during a brief pause in the surgical procedure. "[I met him when I was released from the Aurikha's brig.]" Marinaya continued for a while in silence before pausing again. "[How would you describe the relationship between Terika Belladonna and the Divinity Creed?]" Arkadam answered after a moment of thought. "[There is none.]" "[None at all?]" "[As I understand it.]" Arkadam waited several seconds for the work to continue, but as Marinaya continued to stare into his eyes, he spoke again, slowly and cautiously. "[I suppose... we avoid them, intentionally... Alex and his sister are hiding among us.]" "[I see,]" Marinaya replied, appearing to relax. This sort of questioning went on and on, revealing practically nothing that Ryvik wasn't already aware of. He gritted his teeth. He wanted to ask Arkadam more important questions- like why the crew had attacked bases on Voyak and why they stole that artifact from Starvis. He turned his attention to Yanim as the attendants continued to stitch his wounds. Gataska, meanwhile, was asking Yanim critical questions in rotation, often repeating them. She was belligerent, single-tracked, and visibly irritated, as Yanim didn't answer most of them, or if she did, she gave poor-quality answers which told them nothing. But every once in a while, Gataska would pick up a small needle from a nearby tray and inject a few drops of the unknown liquid into his sister's arm, and Yanim's composure would falter. "Dammit, you backstabber-" Yanim spat out in English. "[Are you poisoning my mind?]" "[We ask the questions,]" Gataska grimly reminded her. "[Who paid you to steal the artifact on Voyak?]" Yanim groaned, her frustration evident. "[Yscom...]" she repeated, as the question had been asked many times before. "[YsCom is a very, very large company,]" Gataska replied, dully. "[Who paid you to steal the artifact-]" Yanim thrashed defiantly, prompting Gataska to reach for the needle again. "[...Argos!]" Yanim roared. "[Now ask me something different, for fuck's sake!]" "[Where is the Aurikha!?]" Gataska yelled, violently grabbing Yanim's throat. "[Tell me and we can end this.]" Yanim could barely breathe through the squeezing. "[I can... end it... any time, Gat,]" she sputtered. Gataska released her and huffed before grabbing the needle again and injecting the remainder of its contents into Yanim's arm. The latter closed her eyes and breathed deeply, waiting for some mind-bending chemical to work its way through her. Ryvik waited as well. "[Where is the Aurikha?]" Gataska repeated. "[I don't know,]" Yanim replied with a smirk. After a moment, however, she began to scream- the whole room felt as if it was spinning and falling away, but she wasn't moving at all. Whatever Gataska had been administering had finally kicked in, inducing a powerful state of vertigo. Ryvik watched Gataska back away from Yanim, a mix of fear, hatred, and pity on her face as tears formed in her eyes. Just as his sister was dying before his eyes, something else was dying within Gataska. He turned back to Marinaya, trying to ignore his sister's increasingly unnerving breakdown. "[Tell me, Arkadam,]" Marinaya said, stepping back from her patient at last and removing her gloves. "[Do you feel sorry for her?]" Arkadam listened to his fiance crying out for help and remained silent for a time. "[I feel very sorry for us all.]" Marinaya smiled. "[I have the antidote right here in my hand. Do you want me to give it to her?]" A darkness traced its way through Arkadam's previously calm features. "[Don't bother with rhetoricals. Just ask the question, you fucking whore.]" Marinaya's eyes narrowed, but the rancid smile remained. "[Where is the Aurikha?]" "[Go fuck yourself,]" Arkadam replied, a sneer slowly building into an ugly laughter. Marinaya's smile ran away from her face as she dropped the syringe on the floor and smashed it under her boot. Unbelievably, Yanim, between fits of terror, laughed as well. It was the most insane spectacle Ryvik had ever witnessed. "[Let her ride it out, then,]" she instructed to Gataska. "[We had a deal, you little prick. I fixed your mouth so you would [I]talk.[/I] But now I'm going to get serious with you. Have you ever seen one of these before?]" She demanded, swiping her personal keycard through a reader on a locked cabinet door. It swung open, revealing a small row of injector pens with gold trim on their shafts. A surgical drill was mounted on the interior of the door. Arkadam's laughter stopped immediately. --- Vixe crept over to the corner and peaked down the long hallway which led to the non-emergency surgical center. There was no one in sight. Shaking the jitters away, she took a few steps forward before a doorway opened behind her. She turned to find herself face to face with the same GKVR officer and Yanim-lookalike from earlier that day, looking spotless and professional in her all-black uniform. "[Ah, captain,]" the officer said with a malicious grin. Her breath was disgusting. Something seemed to drip from her teeth. "[Can I lend you a hand? Or maybe an ear?]" she joke, punctuated by a single laugh. Vixe sneered nervously. "[Actually,]" Beta continued, quickly losing her friendly demeanor, "[I believe I'm the one who needs a hand. Not literally of course- not anymore. I've lost my way. I'm trying to find the emergency trauma ward. Direct me to it.]"
[QUOTE]Your actions weren't futile, it's going to be easier just protecting one of us as well.[/QUOTE] "I suppose so." He looked back at his men loading up into the APC, parked in the hangar. "Hold on for a minute." He looked back to Porter "If you're going to the Cascade get in. Unless you want to dig or swim through the snow."
"There's a blackjacket here. We could use him as a hostage, maybe. Force our way in that way unless you guys can come up with something better. Otherwise, I'm going with [B][I]ruthless aggression[/I][/B]." stated Taylor into her comms to answer Neasha.
After once more re-affirming the plan with the others, János returned to attempting to contact the Khergians. Despite hearing Neasha's question, he wanted to concentrate on the Khergians; however, Taylor's answer worried him slightly, forcing him to pitch in. "Considering the amount of injuries I'm assuming you guys have, I don't know if ruthless aggression or forcing your way in would be the best course of action, even once reinforcement arrives. I personally hope that, by some stroke of luck, the Khergian artillery would end up carving a path to that hospital by accident. Obviously, that wouldn't really work, plus that would probably hurt those inside, but I honestly have no better ideas," János concluded. "Maybe that blackjacket could work, I don't know."
[video=youtube;76nIMVv9EyY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76nIMVv9EyY[/video] "[No-]" Ryvik blurted involuntarily when he recognized the tool Marinaya was about to employ. "[You can't,]" he stammered, not even sure of what ground he was meant to be standing on. The whole point of the GKVR was enforcement of order. There were no laws, no regulations, and no protection for the victims. Anything to get information, to get a confession, was permitted. Still, he tried- "[you've had him for less than a day, you can break him without disabling him!]" "[Quiet down, Lieutenant,]" Marinaya replied. "[You may have the patience to deal with this scum and their needs, but I'll be quite honest with you. I was going to do this either way.]" "[What!?]" Ryvik shouted. "[And my sister?]" "[Oh, I know,]" Marinaya snickered. "[It's an unpleasant sight, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to close your eyes and plug your ears.]" Arkadam began to struggle in terror. "[I know what this is,]" he gasped, "[I've seen them - the sleepwalkers - on holovid... they're lobotomized.]" "[Don't insult me,]" the doctor warned. "[This is far more sophisticated than a damned lobotomy. All I need is one little hole in your cranium and a few seconds with this penlet, and I can tame you. All that grey matter stays exactly where it is, except one critical little piece that will be rendered useless... unfortunately for you, this one little piece contains your will to live. You'll never experience joy, or fear, or anger again. Life and death will be rendered meaningless. Everything you value will be rendered worthless, do you understand?]" "[Thirty-eight-point-six kilometers south by southwest of Stalnazyp, oriented to the north in a narrow valley!]" Yanim finally revealed. "[That's where the Aurikha is landed.]" "[Good! Good!]" Marinaya replied with a delighted cackle. "[Now we're seeing some progress! Still, Arkadam has misbehaved, and he's going to be punished.]" Yanim and Ryvik simultaneously burst into objections as Marinaya beckoned for Gataska's help in securing Arkadam's head properly. Gataska was shocked and hesitant. Arkadam may have run with the wrong crowd, but he had still been her friend once. "[Are you sure... we won't kill him?]" "[I know what I'm doing, just get over here!]" the doctor barked. "[I've never done this before, how many times have you done it?]" Gat begged. Marinaya looked up at her with a mixture of exasperation and affection on her face. "[Sweetheart, I invented this procedure,]" she answered sickly. "[Don't do it, dammit, no!]" Ryvik screamed, straining against the attendants that held him down and began to buckle him into his gurney, just as Yanim and Arkadam had been. "[Let go of me, dammit, I'm ordering you!]" "[Sorry, sir. Standing orders,]" one of the attendants grunted. The sound of a drill powering up and Yanim's screaming filled Ryvik's ears, and Arkadam's voice soon joined in with proclamations of love and forgiveness to Yanim. Ryvik could feel his heart pounding with adrenaline. He began to scream as well, thrashing against the restraints. "[From who!? Who's orders!?!? [B]Let me out!!![/B]]" The drill plunged into Arkadam's head, producing a spasm of pain and shock, an agonized yell. Marinaya inserted the pen's tip into the tiny opening, piercing into the soft tissue beneath and had just placed her thumb on the injector tip when the hallway door opened. Vixe appeared in the doorway. "[This is it-]" she began to say as Beta seized onto her head with one hand and cracked it over her elbow. Before the captain's unconscious body could even hit the floor, Beta extended her arm to point a VRI, and shot Marinaya through the head. The doctor fell away, pulling the pen loose with a trickle of blood, the contents of its cartridge halfway injected into Arkadam's head. Ryvik locked eyes with Beta and felt as close as anyone could feel to Hell itself.
Even though the ship had high end communicators, it suddenly crackled and popped as a primitive transmitter entered the waves. The crackling went on a for a brief moment and then a voice could be heard, "[I]kto vy i kak vy poluchili etu chastotu?![/I]"
Suddenly, what János thought were the Khergians suddenly popped in, responding with a voice distinctly Khergian in tone and language. Unlike most androids, he didn't get a universal translator and instead opted to manually learn the languages required for interrogator in the current age. Now, this meant that he only knew some, not all, and that was reflected in his understanding of the phrase he just heard. He knew that the 'kto vy' was asking who they were, while 'kak vy' was asking how they did something. He wasn't entirely sure what 'poluchili' meant, but considering 'chastotu' meant frequency from what he recalled, connecting it with 'kak vy', he assumed they were asking how they had this frequency or something. He tried to respond in their language. "[I]My[/I], ehm, [I]rabochie Janim[/I]," János tried to respond with his weird accented Khergian, "ohm, [I]poluchayem[/I], hmm, [I]ot neye[/I]?" he finished, hoping they understood his somewhat broken Khergian.
The radio went quiet for a second, and then a new voice appeared, "Glavni give order. We track beacon, fire when signal." he said in a neutral tone.
János sighed in relief. He had managed to finally reach the Khergians, and was speaking to someone that spoke English now. He went ahead and explained the situation to him, revealing that the crew and the Khergians had been captured, being held outside the main complex inside Vostokrebh, whilst Yanim and Arkadam had more than likely been taken away to the medical wing of the complex. He then explained their plans for a rescue mission, and made sure to emphasize the part the Khergians would play: "...the Cataract would take to the skies in order to distract the Vostokrebh defenses, allowing you to move up your artillery over the ridge and fire upon the base, shocking the Kanads with a barrage, permitting our ground team to infiltrate and assist those captured. We have the exact coordinates of those captured, if need be, so that would they wouldn't accidentally be hit by the barrage, and I can try and patch you through to the Cataract's pilot for more direct coordination," János elaborated. He just hoped that the frequency wasn't compromised in any way.
Once again it grew quiet, the khergians most likely discussing amongst themselves. The voice came back on, "Ok, we move when see airship. Only fire one barrage and then go. You understand?"
János understood what the voice said, but we pondered for a moment on whether one barrage was enough. He wasn't exactly sure how powerful a barrage even was, but he came to the conclusion that, if artillery is as powerful as they say, then more than one barrage would probably be overkill. "I understand," he responded.
[media]http://youtube.com/watch?v=dbIm7QH6sAk[/media] [quote]Meanwhile, on Prospera...[/quote] The brightest of all the neon signs couldn't penetrate the darkness of the decaying and trash-filled alleyways behind the lavish and luxurious casinos. Darker still were the hearts and minds of a group of men huddled in a corner, hiding away from any source of light. "Disgusting..." muttered a shadow on the rooftops, gazing at the depravity on the street, on the signs, on the billboards, all the vice and sin around him. It fell from the rooftops into the alley below, landing next to the group. "What a horribly wicked place. It's every bit of awful as he said it was." it said. The group nodded to eachother in agreement. "Is it done?" asked one. "Everything is prepared. They won't know what hit them." said another. "All routes covered?" asked the first. "Every last one." said the last. "Charges set?" asked the leader. "All are armed and ready." "And our backup plan?" "[b]Enough doses for everyone...[/b]" growled one with glowing yellow streaks on his face and hands. "Good, good, good..." said the leader as he rubbed his hands. "The faster we finish this, the sooner we can leave this horrible place. In [i]flames[/i], hopefully." The sounds of loving sighs from the animated billboards, taxis flying overhead, and jazz music playing from various speakers muffled the noises of guns being loaded and equipment being put on. Whatever it was that Yanim and the TBC did many days ago on Prospera, this group was determined to make it seem gentle compared to what it was they were about to do.
One of the SDF Army troopers collapsed on the floor as several shots ripped straight through her armor. "Trooper down! Trooper down!" Yelled another soldier in response as he ejected his spent magazine behind his cover. The squad sergeant popped out from behind the overturned desk he used as shelter and fired off several rapid bursts. "Keep your shit together Jaqobi!" He yelled before firing another burst. Corporal Jaqobi gritted his teeth, adjusted his helmet and took a deep breath. He got up, squeezed the trigger on his rifle and a saw his whole life replay in a flash right before his brain was splattered across the wall behind. The sergeant cursed as Jaqobi fell to the ground while Butcher snickered like a child whom had just pranked his father. "SDF men fight like cornered rats!" The sergeant shook his head and got up. As he entered his firing stance he readied his weapon and switched from semi-automatic fire to automatic. [i]"Die you terrorist piece of shit!"[/i] Butcher was almost caught right in the middle of the bulletstorm but managed to roll away from danger. Despite his size (double that of a Human since he was a Khergian) Butcher moved quite gracefully and speared the trooper sergeant on his two blades before he had even realized what happened. Butcher snickered again and stared into the eyes of the sergeant whom glared at him with a mix of awe and pure rage. "Sarge is down!" Yelled one of the troopers in the back. Butcher, who now realized that he was in the open, started to look for cover as one of the remaining troopers stepped out, kneeled and aimed right at him. Suddenly millions of tiny laser projectiles shredded not only the trooper out in the open but the remaining SDF soldiers still in cover. The smell of burnt flesh and fried circuitry filled the hallway. Butcher pulled out his knives causing the sergeant to fall to the ground with a [i]thud[/i]. He nodded towards Typhoon who walked up next to him with his heavy laser repeater. ----- Warlord and Spider hunkered down while Striker attempted to get a shot on Vega and her team. Despite his best efforts Callahan and the other agents had the best odds; they were spread out along the hallway and ward reception desk. With plenty of cover and good firing lines the three enemy combatants had walked right into a killzone. Spider had been struck by a shot before Warlord had managed to yell out a warning. Warlord cursed loudly and opened up the team comms. "Butcher! Oxide! Push the objective ASAP and take him out!" Spider got up once more and exchanged fire with the enemy. Striker tried to do the same but was instead struck in his good arm. He gritted his teeth and used his remaining hand to pull out his automatic pistol. Waröprd glanced briefly out of cover before going back, narrowly avoiding a shot to the head. "Warlord to Kingslayer, enemy forces on-site is keeping us pinned. Have Excalibur circle back and prepare for a hot extraction!" ----- Vega fired at the three hostiles and managed to strike one of them, the marksman, who resumed firing with a PDW-looking weapon. She looked at Callahan. "Something's off, they're too pinned down and too wounded to make a good push. Plus, we outnumber them." Callahan shrugged. "Maybe they're just that stupid, eh?" Vega grimaced and shook her head. "Not likely." Just as she finished her sentence the remaining trooper vital signs flatlined near-instantly. She looked back at Callahan. "Stay here! I'm going back to Harris!" ----- Agent Harris fired off several shots before going into cover. His three agents, all armed with SMGs and handguns, were currently making a last stand outside the reinforced doors leading to the zero-G surgery chamber which housed Wayford. Between the sound of gunfire they had heard gunshots from other wards of the hospital. As far as he knew there wer eonly three tangos in front of him yet they seemed to have both the weapons and training to take down an army. Harris shook his head at the thought of what had happened to the SDF troopers; most of their vital signs had flatlined at the same moment. Disciple peeked out and shot one of the agents in his left shoulder. Agent Falkberg cried out in pain while agent Tsasaki pulled him into cover. She looked up at Harris and yelled: "Applying first aid!" Harris nodded. "Covering fire!" He peeked out and fired off several shots in rapid succession. Disciple didn't even flinch and simply said "Keep 'em busy!" Butcher and Typhoon did just that, popping out to lay down surpressing fire. Meanwhile Disciple began to hum on [i]The Grenadiers Verse[/i], an old SDF pointman rhyme. [i]"Door in my way, no need to sway..."[/i] He folded up his front left pocket and grabbed a rifle grenade. [i]"Enemies at bay, all here to stay..."[/i] He opened up the loading mechanism on his grenade launcher and inserted the grenade. [i]"Bullets spray, at my dismay..."[/i] Disciple grabbed the loading mechanism and pulled it back, cocking the weapon. He aimed down his sights. [i]"Time to play!"[/i] He smiled underneath his helmet and pulled the trigger. The firing mechanism came to life and kicked the tiny cluster bomb out the tube. It was as if everything began to move in slow-motion. Disciples' smile turned into laughter while Harris' eyes widened in fear. He wanted to move into cover but it was as if he was frozen in place. The grenade lit up with green and red colors, signaling that it was primed. The detonation mechanism charged up... Only to be interrupted by a single lucky shot. The projectile struck the grenade head-on, splitting it pre-maturely. Disciple realized what was about to happen before everyone else and managed to get one of his arms up as a shield. The grenade detonated, sending hundreds of tiny metal balls in all directions. Harris yelled as he was hit in the leg. Tsasaki gritted her teeth as projectiles lodged themselves into her cover and into the wall behind her while Falkberg was too focused on his own gunshot wound to even notice the grenade going off. Agent Ramirez was struck in his right arm while Vega was hit twice in her left leg, forcing her down on the floor. One the opposite side of the hallway Typhoon screamed at the top of his lungs as the battery packs on his chest and inside his weapon exploded, creating several burn injuries. Butcher let out a [i]oumph[/i] but otherwise ignored the dozens of projectiles that had buried into both his armor and flesh. Disciple on the other hand was still standing, one arm up. He began to couch and a thin line of blood began to pour of from underneath his visor. "F-f-fuck." He collapsed onto one knee and dropped his gun. Butcher began to move with his head hanging low. He grabbed Disciple and Typhoon by the collars and began to pull them back towards the hallway they had came from, leaving a trail of Human and Khergian blood. Vega looked back at the surgery room and saw the several dozens of projectiles which had tried to pierce the armored doors. Some appeared to have done just that. She got up on one knee and crouched her way towards the doors while readying her handgun. ----- Valdez could feel the sweat pouring down her forehead. In her right hand were several tiny pincers and in the other a small screen connected to wire camera currently inside Wayford. Her colleagues, Chief Surgeon Sanders and Doctor Ignacio, observed the entire procedure in silence. They had guided her all the up to this moment. The rest was up to her. Muffled shots could be heard outside the room. Some of the nurses flinched and stared at the doors with a worried look. The sound of several shots being fired at the same moment caused Valdez to look up. Sanders leaned in. "Valdez, focus. Let the agents handle the fighting." She nodded and refocused her attention towards the camera screen. Slowly but steady the pincers approached the tiny object that had caused Wayford to become ill and unconscious at such a rapid pace. The entire room fell silent as Valdez closed in on her mark. She was in her zone and completely ignored the gunshots. Sanders leaned in for a better look and Ignacio swallowed. [i]Click.[/i] The pincers grabbed the tiny orb and Valdez began to slowly pull it out of Wayford. A nurse beside her stood ready with a small dish. "Almost there..." Mumbled Valdez. She pulled out the pincers and dropped the orb in the dish, prompting the entire room to sigh. Valdez turned towards the technician. "Re-engage the gravity." He nodded and did as instructed. Quickly the nurses began to move about, preparing to seal up Wayford. The nurse carrying the orb smiled at Valdez. "Good job." As she turned around a large blade pierced her body and caused her to collapse. Valdez, Sander and Ignacio widened their eyes. One of the male nurses grabbed a bonesaw and tried to attack the blurry figure inside the room. Oxide disengaged his cloak, dodged the bonesaw and shot the nurse right between the eyes. Valdez grabbed her scalpel and moved in to stab the attcker but instead found herself looking down the barrel of a gun. Oxide chuckled. "Sorry doc." He went silent. "Playtime's over." Right as he was about to pull the trigger the technician disabled the gravity. Caught off-guard and without his magnetic locks enabled Oxide began to float. Valdez pushed away his arm and stabbed him in the right shoulder. Oxide cursed and backhanded her over the right cheek with the flat side of his knife. "You fucking bitch." Another nurse, this one armed with a small drill tried to attack Oxide from behind. The mercenary kicked the nurse in the abdomen to give himself some space. He found himself floating towards the armored doors where he did a loop and kicked away. Halfway back to Valdez, who was looking for another weapon, the technician disabled the gravity again. This time however Oxide was ready and simply rolled on the ground towards Valdez in an effort to strike low. Valdez grabbed a large metal tray and used it to parry the knife. "You're not killing this man!" Oxide laughed. "That's where you are wrong, now step aside." He prepared for another strike when suddenly a explosion could be heard outside followed by the sound of projectiles hitting the doors. Suddenly Oxide halted his approach and let out a confused [i]oof[/i]. He started to shake and Valdez watched as he simply dropped his knife. "D-D-Disciple y-you fffuck-ing idiot-t." Oxide collapsed a meter away from Valdez. Most of his back was riddled with holes. One hole in particular had hit him in the back of the neck. A pool of blood formed around his body. Valdez turned towards Wayford. He was unharmed. She sighed and sat down. ----- Callahan and several SSOID operators made their way towards the zero-G chamber. The rest of the team had stayed behind with the remaining SSOID reinforcements which had secured the ward. All known enemy contacts had retreated from the hospital yet Callahan hadn't been able to get ahold of either Vega or agent Harris. They entered the corridor and witnessed the destruction left by the cluster grenade. Callahan was the first to spot Vega and the agents. "Medic!" Two of the agents took point and went up to help the agents. Tsasaki was still applying pressure to Falkberg while Harris and Ramirez appeared to be half-conscious. Vega held onto her leg as Callahan kneeled down. "Vega, are you alright?" Vega looked at Callahan. "Wayford." Realizing that the zero-G room was right behind her Callahan nodded at Vega and got up. He gestured at four of the agents. "You, with me. The rest of you stay here and secure this hallway. Get the EMTs in here!" The five of them opened up the doors and entered the room, only to find Valdez sitting with her back against Wayford's stretcher with a scalpel in her hand. One of the terrorists laid dead on the floor. Wayford had just gotten a third chance at life.
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