RP: Setareh Wing [Mission Three] A View To A Kill

Civilian Bay A-1

Karuah kept her attention on the NVR operative, and tied him up. However when a few words came over the comm she froze. A bomb on the station? That was not a small problem, in fact that was a huge problem. She didn't want to let the man she just caught escape either, so she quickly finished tying him up and then hit him with the butt of her carbine to knock him out. Then she stood up straight and made a run for the plaza. She didn't need to stop off anywhere because she always had a small tool kit on her when she was on missions, all she had to do was contact the 'clean up' team and make sure they picked up the still living man too, which she did.

Altair stared in horror as Rasima opened fire... From her VANDR.
He shouted into the radio, "What are you doing? VANDR weapons are too heavy for this situation! We need to search out on foot!"

He then shouted into the crowd. "Everybody, heads down! This area is dangerous!"

Colony Streets

Zoren cursed, putting his helmet back on. He was angry as he slipped it on his head, because a piece of the helmet was bulged inward as it had been dented by the Laiz shot. "Roger that boss, on my way." Zoren grumbled, running towards Song's position. He ran through the streets, deftly avoiding people as he ran.

"Song I am approaching your position now, what is your sitrep?" He asked as he burst into the housing unit. "I will clear the first floor and you clear the second" He ordered.

Nice-Fenced House

"Being the best."

Shaanti had a first-row seat as Irfan had quickly pushed up in pursuit, particularly brisk as she trotted indoors through the still-open door. Zoren was likely somewhere on her right, but she was looking dead ahead as she pushed straight up the stairs without slowing a beat. The hall beneath the stairway likely led to the backhall where Zoren was now, no doubt the place of some doorways. But as the others converged, it tightened a noose on her target. Slowly upward, back to the wall for maximum angling as she peeked and slid further and further.

"Entrance clear... be a good bud and clear behind me, grumpy pants. Song advancing..."

Her hair gently tugged at the wall for a brief moment, pulling away and sidling to the next stairs as she pushed to the second floor proper. The sniper could see her shadow as she checked her right and left, a nice windowed section of halls leading to both the left and right side. And just as before, she turned to her left and began walking down the hallway. The doors were pushed open, the air tense and quiet... but she checked her weapon into automatic with one goal in mind. She wasn't going to demand a surrender, but incapacitate and then worry about taking the terrorist in if they survive.

"Three rooms... clearing one by one. Boss, if they give me a bad look I might be adding another to the count."

Rooftop

Shaanti had in his sights within moments a runner of sorts coming out of the back of the house. They carried with them a child, though. If this was a civilian or a hostage situation, Shaanti was the only one able to make that call as he was the only member of the Vanguard that could see them.

Civilian Home

Zoren would be able to see someone at the top of the stairs exit a closet with a laiz carbine that they began to train on Irfan's backside. They were dressed in grey coveralls and had red tattoos of swirling masses on their cheeks and exposed forearms that he could just barely make out in the light from the window down the hall.

Plaza

Karuah entered the plaza and could immediately tell the area had not yet been cleared of civilians. They milled about at a rushed pace, going to their homes at the edge of the plaza or towards the check points depending on their own personal preferences and deferences to authority. There was a charged chemical explosive underneath one of the four benches and Karuah only had to look hard enough to find it.

The problem was, on one bench a child jumped excitedly that waved their arms, apparently lost and without a parent or caregiver. On another sat an elderly that was without hearing, short of sight, and unperturbed by the events happening around her. The other two were empty of impediments, but as she checked those two benches that were empty first, she would find they were also empty of any bombs.

Checkpoint

Altair had scared everyone and instead of filing normally and safely, they all began to panic and swelled towards Altair and the checkpoints, rushing the guards and trying to get to relative safety. In doing so, a couple in grey overalls got past the guards and they called after them.

"Stop! You two!"

Another guard yelled as they raised a pistol, "Stop right there!"

They were too quick at ducking out of the way and were soon lost in the crowd.

Civilian Bay A-1

"Altair!" Naak grumbled. "That was not necessary!"

"Ishtar, can you change the chemical composition of the air to impede the bombs abilities?" Naak asked afterwards.

Rooftop

Shaanti's heart began to pound in his chest as he watched the runner. In a few moments, they would disappear behind another building. If it was a civilian, that was good, for it meant they would be out of harm's way. If it was one of the NVR intruders, it was horrible, because then the enemy would be in possession of a child.

The monstrous curdatl focused and weighed his options in those few moments. On one hand, the runner was not dressed in gray coveralls. But that could mean that the NVR were taking opportunities to change clothes. Not that it would be wise to take a shot like this in the first place, given the target's speed and the large risk of hitting the child.

Shaanti then analyzed the face of the adult. They looked scared. The way they ran suggested panicked, rather than purposeful movement. Though, it was hard to tell from how fast they were moving.

Shaanti's window was about to slam shut. It was time for a decision.

Ultimately, Shaanti removed his finger from the trigger and returned his attention to the house. His gut told him that the runner was the owner of the house, and thus not a threat. Soon, he would discover whether he was right or wrong. If he was wrong, well, he would have to suffer the consequences of his judgement for the rest of his days, being responsible for the kidnapping and likely murder of a child.

"A civilian just escaped through the back door with a child. Likely the homeowner. Anyone left in the house is most likely a hostile." he informed Zoren and Irfan.

Ishtar's synthesized voice 'Hmm'd' and 'Ahh'd' over a speaker over head. "I could create a vacuum. . . possibly. But the area would need to be vacated immediately. Without knowing the devices' composition I cannot provide another effective countermeasure." sounding a little sour over the lack of options.

Civilian Bay A-1

"Can we clear the area, Ki?" Naak asked over comms.

"Your wing mate has caused panic. There's little we can do to quell the crowd enough to do so!" Ki replied hastily.

"We can't do that, Ishtar! What if Karuah is able to give you a defused bomb to work with? If there are others out there, you may be able to negate their negative impact if you have had a chance to analyze the one she is scouting for!" Naak said to the FIOMNI.

Plaza

Karuah's arrival at the plaza was greeted with more people than she expected. The evacuation notice had to have been given, did they not think they were in actual danger? She did not have time to contemplate though and quickly began her search for the bomb.

She had hoped that the bomb was located under one of the empty benches, but life was never that easy. On the other two benches were a child, and an elderly woman. Karuah figured that the elderly woman might be a soldier in disguise so she approached them first and tried to communicate with them, but quickly noticed that they used sign language to communicate.

The mechanist eyed around the plaza quickly and found someone else who was trying to evacuate, and had them take the old woman off somewhere safe. However when she finally got a look under the bench there was nothing there, she had wasted precious minutes with the endeavor.

All that was left was the bench with the child, if the bomb was not there she would have to start looking from scratch. This time however she got one her knees as soon as she reached the bench and checked under it and with a sense of relief but also dread, the discovered that the bomb was indeed there.

Before she could reach for her tools and get to work however she felt a sudden weight on her back that constantly shifted.

“Where is mommy!?” came a voice from above her. The child had jumped onto her back and clung to her as he flailed around. It was not going to be easy to disarm the bomb like this.

Karuah moved from underneath the bench and stood on top with the child on her back, having to support him. “Is anyone missing a child!?” She called out at the top of her lungs.

Then she spoke on the squad line “I found the bomb in the plaza, but there is a child that’s lost and I don’t think he’s going to leave me alone to work on the bomb.”

"Then find me a defused device. It will only take me moments to scan, and catalog the components and makeup. If necessary, I can utilize a VAADW unit to take the armed explosive to non-populated area." Ishtar offered over the speaker. "But I would much rather dampen, or counter it." she hastened to add.

Civilian Home

As Zoren rounded the corner and saw the enemy soldier burst from the closet, things seemed to move in slow motion. He quickly raised his weapon and trained the muzzle of the carbine at the man's chest. Zoren didn't hesitate to squeeze the trigger and drop the assailant. The bolt flew true and hit the unsuspecting man square in the back, blowing a hole through his chest. "Tango down. Watch your six Irfan... that tango nearly punched your ticket." He said sternly.

He then moved to the now dead NVR soldier and searched his corpse, then searched the closet he had appeared from.

"Ahhh crap..." Altair said. He had really fucked this one up great.

"Can we bring all the civilians to some sort of holding area where we can watch until they can be checked for weapons?"

Civilian Home

"Pft," Irfan had looked back and used her cool demeanor to turn the worry into fluster, "Just stop looking at my ass when you're saving it, grump boss."

Turning her attention down the long hall and its splendorous red paint, Irfan kept her advanced down the hallway solid. The first doorway she checked had an empty home. The next had a young couple making out, causing Irfan to roll her eyes and pull the door shut. But the final door had her slowing down, going close to the wall and halting with her horn gently resting against the off-white doorway. The sliding door was half open, indicating it had been forced open... and that meant she was considering her options. That is, until she stepped a few feet back and gently patted the housing unit's fine, scarlet-colored wall.

"Last guy has to be in here, right? Let's knock it down... and the one leading outside. Give that cutie with a rifle the angle to force him to surrender... or get his face blown off!"

Civilian Home

Zoren was interrupted from his search and look over to Irfan. "Watch my back, I'll clear the room." He moved up to the cracked door, his SOF training kicking in. He ready himself at the door, then burst into the room, weapon training first right, then left. "Room's clear." He called looking back out the door. "Nothing in here. Just another storage closet." He added as he quickly searched the room on the off chance he could find anything useful.

With his quick search over he strode out and back towards the fallen soldier. "There has to be something here to lead us to those explosives." He grumbled to himself, moving to the closet to search there as well.

Dahbi-Class Colony Interior

A man in a grey coverall surreptitiously began placing a bomb in full view of Shaanti, though the sniper would have to readjust and look over his left shoulder to do so. He was far from any checkpoints and half as far from them as he was from the civilian home that Zoren and Irfan were now in.

He was flanked by two other people that were in clothing that both drew no attention and were not grey coveralls. They looked one way and another while the man affixed the bomb to a pole off to one side of the walkway next to a shopping district. There was no clear shot of the man as he was bent down and the other two next to him were covering his body from any shot Shaanti could have fired.

Civilian Bay A-1

After she had been relayed the mechanist's words, Naak gave Altair a quick and decisive command.

"Corralling the civvies is what we were trying to do. Take care of the kid in Karuah's hair in the plaza!"

"Ki!" Naak said the missions operator. "Send out more officers to man the checkpoints!"

To the Setareh Wing crew member that had recently joined them, she said, "Rasima, assist at one of the check points and look for men and women in grey coveralls!"

She then turned to Ishtar, grimacing as she said, "Have a VAADW at the ready."

Civilian House

With the house clear and nothing else to find there, it became their duty to seek and destroy other hostiles in the area. Where they lurked, though, Irfan and Zoren would need to find out.

Rooftops

Shaanti sighed deeply, doing his best to remain calm under the circumstances. Peering over his shoulder, he caught sight of the three NVR setting the bomb. No clear shot. Ugh...

"This will require a more... hands on approach..." Shaanti muttered and climbed to his feet. He took off in a sprint once more.

Elevator

"All units, I have positive ID on the terrorists. Moving to intercept. Backup requested." Shaanti announced over the comms as he gracefully descended to a happy elevator tune. "Three men- one in a grey jumpsuit, two in civilian attire. Sending location to your datarods. Ekata, out."

Dahbi-Class Colony Interior

Once more, Shaanti gave the smaller receptionist a fright as he charged out of the front doors of the building with a laser rifle. Remembering the location of the bombers relative to his vantage point, he used his datarod to find a few shortcuts through alleys. Swiftly he moved, without a sound. Most would think he made giant booms with each stride due to his size, but that was not the case.

Shaanti rounded a corner, and at the end of the block were the bombers. Keeping low, he took up a position behind a parked car some sixty feet away, and trained his rifle on the closest man. People began to notice, and quickly disperse.

"ASTRAL VANGUARD! STEP AWAY FROM THE BOMB AND PLACE YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEADS! IF YOU RUN, I WILL KILL YOU."

Shaanti rarely raised his voice, ever. But when he did, it had the same raw intensity and clarity of a lion's roar. His command cut through the sounds of chaos like a blade.

Plaza

Karuah had her hands full with the young child that decided that he would hang onto Karuah at all cost. She needed to disarm the combo but the child needed to be taken somewhere safe, but by now the stragglers had cleared out after seeing a soldier from the Astral Vanguard show up. She almost regretted that the citizenry were following instructions so well now.

However she had not gotten word back from her squad yet and was unsure what to do with the child, but she could not wait much longer before she got to work. She gave the child a soft pat on the head and tried to calm him down as she looked the bomb over, trying to figure out what the detonation trigger was and start coming up with her plan on how to disarm it.

"A VAADW will be prepared momentarily. I will assume control of the unit as it arrives." Ishtar stated over the speaker. "For now, it would be ideal to continue the search. I will grant access to the visual feeds from the checkpoints as an added measure, allowing for quicker sorting of individuals."

Civilian House

Zoren looked down to Irfan, "Building is clear of hostiles. Time to move on." He said to her as he moved down the stairs, reloading his carbine. "On me Irfan." He ordered as he walked out the door and into the streets.

He looked out into the empty street and scanned for new contacts. That is when he heard Shaanti over comms. "Roger that, we are on our way to assist you." Zoren replied. "Let's go Irfan." He said as he took off in a dead sprint towards Shaanti's location.

He rounded the corner to find his comrade holding up the enemy. He raised his own weapon from the other side flanking them. "Put the device down and back away slowly!" He ordered.

Altair sprinted out to Karuah and the child. Speaking in a reassuring tone he said,

"Hey there. I need you to come with me for a while. The nice lady has a job she needs to do."

As the child sniffles, Altair picked him up and sprinted back to the crowds.

"Excuse me, whose child is this?"

Altair's voice cut through the panic of the rabble.