RP: Cirrus Station [Episode 8] That Sinking Feeling

There was a small burst of static from Claire's communication as she switched back to respond to Tweak. The woman had no computerized brain to help her figure out how to slip around the group, but between the bullets flying and Kokuten's banter, the uniques had their attention elsewhere and followed Tweak without falling behind.

Then came the shove and the angry retort from the head unique while Stovaa generally made a scene that would be embarrassing in any other situation. For them, however, it was just what they needed. "They've already got that covered, Tweak. Just go!" The frustration in her voice at the delay was readily apparent. Her orders were to follow Tweak, but if she wouldn't get a move on, Claire would have to....

The Unique that had just got done giving Noboru a little physical disapproval rose herself up as Stovaa got in on the action. Despite being several heads taller than she, the Unique seemed relatively unimpressed by his height as she placed her weapon in both hands. She didn't point it directly at Stovaa, but the barrel went close enough in his general direction for anyone to get the signals she was sending. "How about you sit down before I put you down?" With things getting as heated as they were, Nell finally decided it was time to intervene before the two groups lost sight of what was happening around them. The silver-haired Unique stepped up to her sister-in-arms. "Davis, jeez, chill out some," Nell placed a hand firmly on the woman's armored shoulder, only to be immediately shrugged off. "Your new friends are asking for a plasma bolt, Nell."

Before things could get farther than that, one of the other Uniques at the other end of the doorway stood up and spoke. Her voice was deeper and sounded older than the voices of her peers. "Nell is right Davis, you need to calm down," the other Unique said. Now that she was beginning to speak, the other Uniques turned their attention towards Nell, Stovaa and the headstrong Unique.

"It seems that we've got the approval of one of the more experience Uniques, so far, so we'll be able to carry out the plan without much worry of being shot in the back... I think." Kokuten clarified over the private radio as he leaned his panel up against the wall. He tilted his head left and right, making an audible popping noise. With that, he looked over at Stovaa, and thumbed towards the room. "Sergeant Badass, you're clear to make your forward assault at will, we will follow behind and move to sweep the room. Watch your fire, and extract Purina at first chance."

The frustration in Claire's reply didn't get Tweak to move as much as it startled her into dashing down the hall as a mild burst of static blurred everyone's sensors, including any cybernetic scanners being used by the terrorists. Not enough to blind anyone, but could be considered interference from a mild EMP. Each side might even think it was an attempted attack by the other.

Meanwhile, Tweak shouldn't have even worried about getting out of sight before being spotted. The Freespacer neko covered the remaining distance to the end of the hall in less than three seconds and crouched, her back to the wall on the left as soon as she passed the doorway. Her senses were on high alert now, cataloguing everything in the room that moved, made a noise, or had a heat signature.

Hopefully Claire didn't prove the notion that people always notice the second one if/when she followed...

As soon as Tweak budged even an inch, Claire was right behind her. Of course, the Geshrin woman was nowhere near as fast, but it took her all of a second or two longer to traverse the distance. She had been tensing up to that point and used the burst of speed to get past the doorway before anyone could react (Or just barely) before the sudden static burst wore off on it's distraction. She didn't give thought to the static or it's origin, she just knew that she had to MOVE.

Not having the foresight or reaction times of Tweak however, she only barely managed to get past the door and move to the right. Not enough time to register what was beyond it yet.

The neko checked her reaction to someone barreling through the door after her in time to avoid smashing Claire's helmet. There was a moment of silence as her face contorted behind her one-way opaque visor in her own frustration.

"What are you doing here?!" Tweak hissed. Either she didn't remember profanities or she didn't use them, but even without them it was easy to tell she was angry. "I wasn't supposed to go until they started their attack, those were Kokuten-sa-- Kokuten's orders! And he told me to go, not you! What if you were caught?!" The tirade was sent over a private channel to Claire, but also to Kokuten.

Claire, despite the rarity of tweaks anger, was not about to take lip from the spacer. "Are you dense? Why do you think they were causing such trouble? Our orders are our orders and that was as good of a chance to move on as we were going to get! Or would you rather still be back there getting bossed around by a unique? And I was ordered to follow you in order to complete our objective!" Claire inhaled to continue her beration but then shook her head, reminded of their task by her own words.

"Forget it, we can point fingers later, let's get Kess where she needs to go."

"It's fine, you two. I felt uncomfortable sending you alone, Ms. Tweak." Kokuten responded over the channel, hearing the angered banter between the two women. He kept his head focused at the hall, while leaning up against his floor panel. "If stealth tactics fail, I trust Claire's ability to defend you. Ms. Winters will also not fall easily to the distractions I have heeded so far. So, likely, you will move much faster."

After a short pause, it seemed as if he was done.

"At least, when you start moving." he added finally.

Kokuten said:

"...I trust Claire's ability to defend you."

Click to expand...

It wasn't doubt of Claire's fighting ability. Instead, the implication that she couldn't take care of herself sent the following thought through Tweak's head before she could stop it:

You're kidding me...

How do you stop a thought, anyway? She refrained from saying anything; Tweak trusted her team leader. Rather, at this point she wanted to trust what Kokuten had just said. Her own feelings were screaming the opposite. There was no way she could move as fast or as quiet or fight as well if she had to worry about someone else! This whole thing would be over by now if she had just gone on her own...no distractions! That's what a forward scout did! She would have reported on what she passed by and the team would have taken care of the hostages, the team would have dealt with the Uniques...

But that was just who Tweak was. Call it an inborn neko superiority complex or say it was because she feared being found out, but the adopted Freespacer preferred to deal with things on her own if there was no immediate need for help, a tendency on such a scale that it set her apart even from her own kind. Orders were orders though, and those trumped whatever she felt. Regardless of any further objections, Tweak's teammate was right: what was done was done. They needed to keep moving.

"Kess, where do we go now? We've reached the offices at the end of the hall." Tweak turned her attention to her tactical mind's results from the room scan while she waited for Kess' reply.

The woman behind the Unique faceplate with the more mature voice motioned towards her group of Uniques with her hand. "Davis, you and I will stay at the door and suppress them. Nell, Lesley, Huxley, help that ID-SOL get those panels off the wall," the Unique gave her orders. Nell and the other two Uniques hurried over to where Stovaa was standing, but the one they all called Davis was still not in a very good mood. "You're not my captain, Swann," Davis spat back through her speaker system. In response, the older Unique rose up and stood her ground against Davis' remarks. "I may not be Gold Captain Bell, Private Davis, but I am still a Captain of the Vinross Yu-Cranker Uniques. You will do as I say until you reunite with your unit. Understood?" This Unique captain's tone was soft, yet commanded respect. Davis didn't have much to say to that; after her shoulders rose and fell along with her silent sigh, Davis took the other side of the door and fired a few random shots into the room, hot streaks of blue plasma lighting up the doorway in blinks of the eye. There was a burst of return fire in response, as well as another short scream from Administrator Popjoy.

The Unique Captain faced her emotionless visor over in Stovaa and Kokuten's direction. "Sergeant Badass, I do not know how your plan will turn out, but if you intend to save your VIP, you must hurry. My Uniques will help you as best as we can."

---

Luckily for Claire and Tweak, the hallway continued to curve off slightly, the geometry of the facility following around the edges of the natural sinkhole itself giving them a small sliver of obscuring wall, which grew larger and larger as they progressed. "Good, you made it through," Kess replied to Tweak and Claire. "The server room for this accounting area is just ahead at the end of this hall." Sure enough, the end of the hallway was in sight, the duo no longer able to see the remnants of their squad or Nell and the Uniques. The hall ended in a single bulkhead door, which had apparently remained open during the shutdown.



The server room itself was large and circular, and most definitely still under construction. Nearly half of the room was nothing but open air, a thin skeleton framework of random girders sticking out from the unfinished edges of the area. A quick glance out of the unfinished construction zone revealed that the open side lead out into a fantastic view of the sink hole... which fell for a very long distance, a sheer rock cliff and vaguely distant bottom visible. The other side of the sinkhole's enormous side walls was visible across the great chasm the hole had created, and distant sounds of starship engines hummed in from the opening. The room itself was lit quite well, the natural evening light from the quickly-setting star above Fortuna casting a orange-red haze over the entire room.

Large metal crates occupied most of the room, most likely filled with construction materials. Tweak's natural sensing abilities couldn't perceive just what was in the crates, however... it would appear that Vinross Yu-Cranker storage crates were made with privacy in mind, which was not all that surprising, given that it was possible that there were delicate computer and server parts in these crates. The unidentified metal used to construct the crates barred Tweak's view, but both Tweak and Claire would notice more blatant, disturbing signs.

It would appear that this area had been a battleground earlier; there were shell casings from several different calibers of bullet rounds spread across the floor, mostly around the area where the hallway opened up into the server room. There were bloodstains as well, but no bodies could be seen. Most of the blood was in pools randomly spread along the ground, suggesting fallen foes given laying long enough to create them. There were other spatters as well, sweeping patterns of red fluid; it would be difficult to tell what made those. The incomplete area wasn't made so due to damage, and no signs of a vessel could be seen outside of the room into the chasm, so it was unclear as to what had occurred.

In the center of the room, slightly obscured by one of the large metal storage crates, stood a large cylindrical computer server, which also appeared to still be under construction. There was a soft hum emitting from the machine, however, and several lights blinking visibly, signifying that although apparently incomplete, the server itself was online, or at the very least functional.

Captain Bell... The mention of that particular name incited a cold, gripping sensation within Kokuten. Her name was matched with a face he couldn't forget. Her misguiding features, though attractive and beautiful, only masked the sinister nature that rose in combat. What was worse, was that Davis was one of her Uniques. She was someone who was truly responsible for what happened that day. As a result, a small pang of vengeance rose in his stomach, only to be beat down by the restraint he so carefully forged over his years.

As soon as he calmed himself, it came to him where Davis got her abrasive nature from. Though, any further reflection on that would've been a waste of time. The Captain grabbed his wall panel, and then grabbed it with his strong arm, drawing his pistol with the other. He looked over at Stovaa, and gave a short nod, reaffirming the orders he had given moments before and to let the ID-SOL know that he was ready.

"Captain, I plan on charging up the middle of the corridor, shielded by the panels. I recommend you follow me, either shooting or telling me locations of the terrorists. When I'm in the room, I'll head to the loudest noise and use the shields as weapons. If you could cover my back, or one of these lovely ladies could bring up the rear, that'd be great" he explained, banging his shields together loudly, holding them solidly by the short metal spars on the back of them.

"They'll be too shocked to kill any hostage, but we must take note that they will be behind defenses, so we'll need to be fast."

He waited a few seconds for it to sink in before stepping into the open corridor, shields held aloft and together. A moment or three hung in time as he paused, knees dropping before he started to sprint down towards the administrator, roaring at the top of his lungs.

"I'm the Juggernaut, Bitch!"

Kokuten nodded to Stovaa after his explanation and placed the panel on his back. Then locking his arm in place as to the keep the shield locked as a stationary piece of armor. With his equipment ready, he took his position behind Stovaa. In that free moment, he considered the audacity of this plan. They had little idea of what they were walking into, nor did they have any idea of how desperate these terrorists might be.

But, Stovaa had the confidence to disregard such things for the sake of reaching the goal. It was something Kokuten would have to remember.

"I'm the Juggernaut, Bitch!"

Click to expand...

The Captain shot forward, trying to keep a manageable distance between Stovaa and himself.

"Move up!"

Why was a server in an unfinished room?

Tweak stayed in the doorway and held up a hand to Claire as she checked the temperature of the blood pools with her infrareds, even though the nature of the sinkhole and the sun overhead would mess with those results. It wouldn't hurt to have them, she reasoned.

"Is the room supposed to be open to the sinkhole?" Tweak asked Kess. After checking the temp, she glanced at the girders and remaining walls, looking for damage. "This feels like a trap," she murmured, the private channel still open. Then she sighed. "I'm going to check the system before Kess goes in. No server would be left open like this and someone has already been here," she said, a little louder. "Claire, stay here and watch my back." Pause. "Or would you like to, if I'm being too cautious?"

Claire felt a little pang of worry. Why was everyone in charge so unsure of themselves? Wasn't a bit of confidence one of the qualities of being a leader? Then again, she was no leader herself so perhaps she didn't have room to talk. Nonetheless... "Stop second guessing yourself. Do your thing, I'm watching your flank." Claire's words didn't have the urgency of before, as they were no longer in range of the Unique's guns.

"Tennoheika banzai!" Noboru shouted over his external speakers, the expatriate respecting his Yamataian ancestry for once, immediately before bolting off after Kokuten down the hallway. He raised his SMP and kept himself half-crouched as he ran, using Stovaa's bulk and the mass of his improvised shields as a bulwark against possible harm.

He also assisted Kokuten in his job, sweeping for targets as Team Badass charged into the office block.

"I'm not 'second-guessing'. This is not right. Why would any self-respecting engineer set up a server in such an unprotected place? And it's running...and...and there are containers here that have no apparent purpose." Tweak shook her head. "Fine. I'll bet you a meal that we will get attacked, and right when Kess is most vulnerable too. Just make sure we all survive if we are." She stood up and readied her pistol, sweeping the room as she approached the console. "What if the console is trapped? They could infect or destroy Kess," the neko murmured to herself. Once she got close enough, she searched for an interface, preferably a keyboard for now, to use before committing Kess to whatever happened next.

The argument with Kokuten was nerves for the most part. Claire was... invested in this mission and was a little leery of it failing. Tweak on the other hand... now she was beginning to feel concern for Kokuten's judgement. Had this girl never been in charge before? And now she was getting mouthy over a seperate tangent. "That's not what I meant, just keep your head on straight. If any of it is trapped, we'll be learning shortly, won't we? I said I have your back and I meant it. Focus." If it weren't for her helmet she would be rubbing her eyes in frustration. Like Kokuten had said earlier, now wasn't the time for debate.

Stovaa's barricaded advance was met by a hail of gunfire. The room was squared and fairly large. The group of terrorists had turned over several of the desks to line the far wall, using them as cover. It was hard to tell just how many there were due to this cover, but five heads and upper bodies could be seen above the ridge of the overturned tables. Upon realizing that they were being invaded, one of the shouted a curse and the rest of them ducked low, continuing to fire upon Stovaa. The rounds battered the paneling, the bullets doing little to sway the large ID-SOLs steadiness.

The more pressing issue, however, was that Purina Popjoy was in plain sight... the eco-terrorists had bound her hands behind her back and had placed in direction in front of the barricade facing the door. Purina seemed to be relatively unharmed, one of her pink hairbuns undone and in strands, no doubt from a previous struggle. She was looking quite flustered, immediately beginning to struggle in her bonds when she saw that the room was being stormed. "HEEEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEE!"

After the Squad had rushed in, the Unique known as Davis immediately rushed in and began to fire on the group behind the cover. She was apparently still resentful, either from her Unique superior, the Squad's antics, or perhaps even both; either way, she had forgone the use of Stovaa's cover and instead strafed off to the side. The shots from her plasma rifle collided with the cover, some of the shots melting straight through. A couple of the bluish beams of intense heat came precariously close to Purina, who yelped with each collision.

---

"The schematics of the facility mentioned that this area was still under construction. This room used to be smaller but the increase in this wing of the facility apparently called for a larger area to house the computer servers," Kess explained at Tweak neared the cylindrical server node. The panels along the outside of the large computer had several ports of varying shapes for various types of plugs... one of which matched the input/output port on Kess' Savtech unit. There were no screens or key panels visible, however; direct user access to the server node must have required a special interface device, but plugging Kess into the server wouldn't need such a device.

Suddenly, Tweak would hear a soft clank of metal on metal off to her side. A quick glance to her right revealed a lone figure, raising a rifle pointed directly at Tweak. The new foe had the looks of a regular Unique... but she wore no designer clothing over Unique security armor, giving her a much more sleek and much more menacing appearance. The Unique's helmet had two small fin-like ridges along the side, distinguishing her differently from regular Uniques, and the faceplate visor had been pulled up, revealing a sly grin... and a very familiar face. Dirty blonde bangs visible near the ridge of the faceplate, sharp narrow eyes and nose... and a malicious smile being the shiny chrome Unique plasma weapon.

It was Captain Bell.

"Drop your weapon and step away from that console, slowly, if you please," Bell said softly, her smile not leaving her face as she kept a safe distance away from Tweak. From the way that one of the large metal storage crates had been positioned, neither Tweak nor Claire would have noticed her until they were right upon her. Perhaps that was just what Bell was wanting to do. As it were, Claire still could not see Bell, the metal crate blocking the Nepleslian woman's view of the sinister Unique Captain. Claire could still see Tweak, however.

From the clear line of fire her rifle was presenting, Bell didn't look like she was one to give hollow threats.

Kokuten followed well enough into the fray, and with a decent enough view of the situation, he would be able to dictate it wisely enough. While keeping in pace with the unstoppable juggernaut, he pointed his pistol in Purina's direction, though, made wise not to point directly at her.

"Alright!" The Captain radioed squad wide over the channel. "Stovaa, advance to Purina's position, we'll be using you as mobile cover to reach her location! Everyone else is to pour the heat on the enemy! If her restraints are connected to something, we might have to spend some time cutting her loose. Otherwise, we scoop her up and get h--..." Kokuten stopped and looked back as he saw one of the uniques advancing forward, opening fire and nearly glancing a shot on Popjoy. While keeping pace with Stovaa, Kokuten loosed up the joints in his strong arm and cleaved down his wall panel over the Uniques weapon.

"You stupid bitch," growled Kokuten, not in the mood to be coddling or friendly to such actions, "You almost hit the Administrator!"