[Senate] After the blast

[Tom]

OOC: Captain Gregor Blank played by Gallant.

River City one; come in, River City one, over.

Captain Gregor Blank stirred beneath the peices of what used to be the senate's ornate entrance arch. He was dreaming, and seeing stars. The electric crackle of his radio was an annoyance. Forcefully, he shoved himself up, searching his vest for the thing, to turn it down.

River city one to River city two. Comms. check. What the hell happened? We could see the explosion from here. Do you need backup?

The rubble tumbled off him in a cascade. The gray mist hanging over the ruined corridors of the cathedral was all morter dust and crap. He coughed violently, spitting some of it up. The Captain surveyed the grim montage for only a brief few seconds before the groggy punch-drunkenness that had resulted from his concussion cleared enough for rational thought to poke its way through. He grabbed his radio.

"River city two, this is river city one. Requesting immediate backup. There are casualties. It's a thirty-two-twenty, over. We're condition four. Hurry your asses up. I repeat, it's a thirty-two-twenty."

Forcing one of the steel gaiters that had, until recently, been hidden within the cathedral's stoneworks off of his shoulder with a shrug and drawing his sidearm, the Captain stood as best he could and advanced into the ruined meeting hall. He had seen worse scenes in his time, but they were usually caused by him rather than directed towards him. He strained his ears for any sound that could betray a living being beneath the rubble, watching for any movement at all.

"Marshall!"

The acute senses of the well-trained bodyguard quickly honned in on a gloved hand protruding from beneath a pile of rubble. It strained and twisted, futily trapped in a pinned position. His years of being behind Davis, always keeping a watchful eye on him, made him aware of the smallest details in the fabric of his ward's gloves. There was no doubt.

Kneeling, the Captain began to dig the Premier out. The stones and rubble gave way almost immediately to his earnest effort.

Robert Davis lay face down amidst the destruction. A moan escaped from the man, bits of dirty gray ash spitting out from between his lips. His once-impeccably clean figure was now awash in dirt and the small patches of dark brown and red that ran along his skin.

Putting the radio to his mouth, the Captain said, "River city two; the Premier is alive and stable. Get me a shuttle on-scene, and tell Green forest-one to get their asses over here, if they're still alive." Replacing the radio in his vest, Blank stooped down over the Premier, checking him over for injuries. It was too early to move him. If there was a spinal injury, moving the Premier could kill him. "Sir. Listen to me. Can you speak?"

The incredible ringing sound in Davis's ears deafened him to the Captain's words, but the Premier responded with a flinch upon sensing foreign hands on his body. He sputtered and coughed, the wracking of his lungs seeming to jump start his whole body and slowly, very slowly, his head began to move. "Ugh... Mm..."

"Don't move, sir," Blank ordered, but perhaps the man lying beneath Blank didn't hear him, or maybe he didn't know or care to follow the order. Suddenly with a momentous burst of effort, the Premier rolled onto his back, his eyes squinting open. His lips continued to move.

"I... w-what.."

"Explosion," Blank offered by way of explination, "A medivac is on its way."

The premiere's eyes opened wider. "E-explosion!?" He clutched at the darkness in front of him, trying to hold onto the source of the sound in front of him. He only managed one of the straps on Blank's bulletproof vest. "The o-others! We have to...!"

"Yes, sir. Green forest-one is en-route with a medical team. Can you sit up for me, sir?"

Two hands grabbed the straps on Blank's vest and pulled him down towards him, or rather, pulled the premier up to rest on his chest. Warm drops of blood fell on him, from a large gash on the premier's head which bled openly.

"I...I can stand. My... cane. Where?"

Blank held up his hand. "How many fingers, sir."

Davis's eyes locked on the hand for a few moments, the older man trying to formulate the answer to the basic question. Everything was swirling.

"f...Five..." he finally answered.

Blank frowned in mild annoyance, dropping his hand to the radio. He clutched at it thoughtfully for a few minutes before hitting the lever.

"Where are you fuckers? Taking the scenic route? The Premier is in a state of shock, and I can't dig all these suits out by myself."

"Not shock! My cane!, blast it!" The smaller man appeared to be getting his bearings, and the feelings of confusion were quickly giving way to anger. He tried groping around, but nearly fell out of the arms of the captain. "J-just help me stand."

"Senators! SENATORS!"

 

[Kokuten]

A small heap of rubble heaved a small distance away from both Davis and Blank, and grizzled, thin, and sickly hand pushed from below it. Mustering whatever strength he had left, Patrino Roachmere revealed his broken, bloody body to the sundered world. Though, as far he could pull, the rest of the debris fell back onto his lanky legs, trapping him from coming out any further. From what they could see, one of the supporting rods in the structure's walls had pierced through his stomach, his face was near covered in blood, and with more of it pouring on to the dusty ground in front of him. Though the veil of his own gore, the dying Senator cast a weak glance at the Premier.

"D-Davis...!" hacked Patrino, coughing blood in a disgusting spatter. "Do--... Don't... let this go unanswered...!"

It seemed the sickened man knew his life was coming to a close. For one of the few times in his life, he felt an utter sadness that gripped from the depths of his heart. Tears streamed down the man's face, seeing this place, his home, attacked in such a way. It was more painful than even the bar that pierced through his stomach.

"Don't let... ... hagh... Don't let... my children know... I died... ... without... a..." struggled the man with his next words words as he slowly slumped forward, his face resting on the pillow of rocks in front of him. He coughed up a few more ounces of blood.

"Without... a fight..." managed Patrino, his hands clenching fistfuls of rubble in his final breath, before his body became still, and silent.

 

[Dragonnova]

If there were more than three fingers on his hand, the last motion it would have made would have likely been a final 'fuck off' gesture to whoever hit the senate building. As it stood, the largest of the rubble had the mechanical limb sticking out lifelessly from underneath it.

And Regnier was a short ways away from it, looking at his lost limb.

"Go fucking figure. The one time I actually have to be dragged here in person someone tries to kill me..." The Malaisian senator coughed violently from the dust invading his lungs. One of his legs was also missing but not visible among the debris.

"Well... heh.. maybe I'll finally have to upgrade and get Maria to shut up about it." He bitterly chuckled as he referred to his overworrying secretary. Despite the missing leg, he used his remaining organic arm to pull himself up along the wall, leaning heavily on it as he awkwardly pushed himself along it with the last leg. It was strange that it didn't hurt as the limbs in question were pretty well attached to the stumps of his body, but maybe it would come later. At that note he suddenly realized that the infections he'd get from the now open ends of his former limbs would be a bitch and a half to take care of.

He slowly made his way over to where Davis was, though still having to stay on the wall for the time being till someone helped him. "You still alive, Robert? I swear to god if you die from this I'm going to piss on your grave." He gave a weak laugh after essentially taunting his boss.

 

[Koenig808]

All the Senator from Prime remembered was a terrible flash followed by a suffocating feeling as the explosion knocked him out of his chair and on his back. The debris from the blast had thankfully missed Garza, save for several small little pieces of material which peppered his upper body. Leaving his face stinging once he...

...Awoke, to a horrible ringing in his ears and a dull, seemingly permanent pain in his body. Reaching for his face, Garza rubbed it slightly, half as an assurance that it hadn't turned into ground beef, and the other half as a natural reaction for him from waking up after blacking out from a long night of drinking.

Feeling not his hand, but a stinging sensation on his face, the Senator stood up. Or tried to. His feet were absolutely wobbly, and for the moment he was completely oblivious to the other senators around him, until he stumbled upon the pile of rocks that was Patrino's death chair.

"Shit...fucking...rock on, I guess..." Garza said in a dazed manner, attempting to walk over to the remaining figures that were in motion, hoping one was Davis. "Davis, what the fuck are we going to do?"

 

[Tom]

Robert Davis gritted his teeth and stared solemnly at the figure of Senator Patrino, burning the memory of the deceased patriot into his mind.

"H-he was always a true Nepleslian, and a symbol of pride to the Imperium," he said, ignoring those around him. "Senator Patrino, you will forever be remembered for your service to the nation and your relentless belief in the strength of our people. Thank you."

With that, he stood, his legs wobbling unsteadily, but he used the strong Captain in front of him as a brace. He wavered a moment but caught himself on the arm of the Captain and waited for his body to return to normal. He felt pain all over, but the adrenaline was starting to kick in, and the fresh jabs soon melted into a dull, throbbing sensation.

He then turned slowly and addressed the two injured senators behind him, his eyes burning with a passion that hadn't been seen in many years.

"Mr. Regnier, Mr. Garza. I believe I have a taste for calamari this fine day..."

 

[Gallant]

The Captain, supporting the Sky Marshall with relative ease, adjusted the radio volume of the device on his vest. Aside from the crackling, there was an eery silence to the place that unnerved him, and set his instincts to tingling. Green Forest One wasn't responding.

He closed his left eye, and examined the world with his right eye only. He had lost his right eye in a domestic bust gone wrong and gained a military-grade replacement. The world gained outlines. Through the dust, he could see the vague silhouettes of crumbling walls, fallen ramparts. There was no more ceiling, and far-off, he could spy city towers.

Perfect sniper points.

"Sky Marshall," he said, "Gentlemen, we need to move."

 

[Tom]

"I agree," Davis said, once more looking over the destruction and finding no sign of any other survivors. "We must get to safety before enemy reinforcements come."

He hobbled towards Regnier. On the way he found it... his cane, the metal handle dented, the polished wood scratched, but still intact. He laboriously bent over to pick it up, then put his weight on it, relieved that the hardy stick held firm.

When he reached Regnier, he extended an arm to him. It was an odd sight, the Premier, using a cane himself, had become a crutch for the crippled senator.

In the distance, the sound of gunfire could be heard.

"Looks like we have to hurry."

 

[Dragonnova]

Regnier's eyes clicked again as he saw the Premier's extended hand. Was it indignation at needing another's assistance? Touched at his boss actually caring? Or perhaps a little pride at being deemed valuable enough by his boss to try and keep him alive? Whatever his emotion, he sighed mildly and clasped his remaining arm around the premier's shoulder. "Thanks... Davis."

There was a slight pause before he looked over at Garza. "Think that other arm can be pulled out? I can probably reattach it if you give me a second since it just got pulled out of the socket only. I could fire a gun then and not be dead weight."