RP: United Outer Colonies The Crucible: First test of an ideal

Natsuko looked at David. "Sir, requesting permission to assist." Natsuko said as she tried to ignore the pain in her leg. If Camhi was injured, which according to her report she was, she probably would be able to fight by herself. Especially if she were carrying supplies for them. Natsuko had pulled up Camhi's location on the HUD in the Tenshi, and was already linking the information to both Ashlyn and David.

"I'm a ghost. Get together for the extraction." Ashlyn nodded, and slipped out of the apartment. Once she went to the correct side of the building, the stealth specialist passed through bullet-riddled archways, and jumped from a blown out window higher up on the next building. She wasn't going to float enough to get noticed, no not until it was time.

The Tenshi were bad enough, but all she had to do was get in range that she wouldn't miss emptying everything she had after a few precision strikes. The creeping silence in the spaces between sounds of fire going off were her enemy. Closer, going through buildings and climbing inside if possible the single armour crept closer to the parking lot that held the AA keeping them from getting onto their rescue ship. Things had been grossly underestimated...she was sure the debriefing, if they survived, would be interesting.

During another pause in sound, Ashlyn moved to a staircase of the office building that was left abandoned where her map relentlessly kept the same symbol for the target zone as when they all ended up bursting out of the sky. The blood...she could smell the blood everywhere inside. Why wouldn't it stop? It had slowed, but enough was inside to make her a little intoxicated on the taste when it worked over her lips. The thing that always bothered her was when you couldn't touch yourself inside a suit to make something stop, even an itch.

Boom.

There it was again. She moved to the roof, and passed a half-decomposed body with an exit wound she could have stuck her leg through if not in a hurry. Scrambling across she took a knee, then peeked over the edge. There was a small encampment of reds there, but the AA they were using was what centered most of them, a pair seemed to be talking, one of them with his helmet off. A red flicker, flame? What is that...? Oh, a cigar-ette. She had never seen one in person before. 'In person' to someone who enjoyed the site from range meant examining it with the magnification her suit provided. Speaking of, it was time.

Not even bothering with the pacifier gun, she took aim with each forearm projector. The head of the first armour, he started to put it on once she brought in the targeting for the other. In case their suites would alert them they were being targeted, she waited on it. The fire tone would come the second it enabled, and guide her shots. On either shoulder, the plasma missiles rotated, and prepared to fire. The other three she could not hit right away with twenty or so pulses of energy a piece would get the missile launcher, then the angle she hand would keep things very interesting.

A smile that no one could see heralded noise that seemed to tear the sky open. The click or two she had traveled didn't make any mistakes for what was going on, if the others could hear. One man's head exploded helmet and all, not fumbled on fast enough-why bother when you didn't know the attack was coming until the fire came? Missiles burst from the Tenshi's shoulders, raining down on the AA site, though incoming fire from the one suit she missed slammed into the building, putting her off aim to fire back at first she kept the plasma explosions to the site, sending up the ordinance nearby with it. Reverberations of power buffeted her armour. Finally, she clipped the other pilot's leg. It seemed like a turn for retreat. There was no chance. The Peacekeeper's other arm tracked, and fired. Two seconds later it hit the ground, smoldering.

Ashlyn-...Stryker...break-birds are free. Her message broke to the team. Just to be safe, she spent another pair of missiles on gnarled metal that remained jagged and obstinate against the ambush. Her vision was blurring intermittently, pop up warnings about her vitals were ignored. Half of it was the excitement she felt, the other from how close death was near the end. Half of the roof crumbled from the earlier rounds directed Cadet Bonheur, sending her zipping, then jumping with assistance to the smaller building back in the team's direction.

David helped Natsuko as they rushed down towards where Verna was pinned down. he had to take directions from Natsuko because he still had no helmet. As they got close David dirrected them up into a building that was on one side of the street the firefight was takeing place on and hurried Natsuko to the second floor. "Natsuko I need to to take up a possition slightly behind and above their line. I will then need you to cover me while I get the child out of there. Do you understand?" After Natsuko responded David rushed through the building to flank around behind Verna while trying his best to stay quiet.

As he turned a corner he discovered that he was not the only one trying to get behind Verna's position as he was greeted by the sight of 3 regular soldiers trying to sneek around her flank. Lucky for David they didn't notice him untill after he took aim and removed a good portion one of the soldiers heads and knocked the other to the ground with a few wounds to the chest. The remaining soldier turned around in time for David to deliver a power armour assisted hit to the face with the butt of his rifle. The soldier fell to the ground while fireing his gun into the dead body next to him and the wall.

After quickly picking up a stronger gun from the fallen he hurried to the second floor of the building to where he had been told she was by Natsuko. David stoped next to the door to the room and slowly peered around the corner to she if Verna was there makeing sure not to announce his arrival just yet incase it wasn't her.

Kenoki was almost accustomed to the throbbing pain in her head when she led Ai and Rissa the Medic back to the camp. The blast from the Anti Air emplacement going up was marked by bellowing smoke that joined with the thick cloud already blocking out the stars, lit a dull orange by the many fires that filled the city. It would be over soon…

Her Tenshi picked up an open broadcast that it displayed on her HUD.

--A tall man dressed in a black and red uniform sneered, “Peacekeepers! Do you think you have won?” The image panned to the left to show a handful of huddled and clearly frightened refugees, women and children. To either side were armed guards. The man in the black and Red uniform stepped into view holding a handgun. He placed it to the head of a young woman among the refugees. He pulled the trigger.

“Now you understand our resolve, I will kill all of these hostages if my demands are not met. You will send down an interstellar capable shuttle by remote control and allow us to leave this system without being followed. Then, and only then, will we release our hostages. You have until dawn.”

Click to expand...

The pain in Kenoki’s head was forgotten, anger filled her, a trembling anger hidden within her Tenshi. With no way to escape, the anger condensed, solidified into something hard within her soul. “Rissa,” She said to the Medic, “Take care of Ai.”

To her armour she said, “Triangulate that signal.” And to Natsuko, “You saw that broadcast right? If we try to make a coordinated attack, the Reds will panic, so I’m going in, alone.” The Reds would be overconfident against a single PA, it was the slimmest of changes, but a chance none the less. “Try and keep the bastards busy out there, I’ll take care of the rest. I’ll see you when I’m finished.”

Kenoki turned to go as her Tenshi provided a map location for the broadcast. “Peacekeeper!” The medic Rissa called out to her. Kenoki turned back to her. One of the other medics, it could have been the one with the radio before, ran out to meet them. In his arms he held a large weapon very uneasily, as if afrade of what it might do. Her Tenshi identified it as a Nova Corp Heavy Assault Rifle.

The medic handed her the weapon, Kenoki looked it over and nodded, “Thanks.” She turned and started walking into the night, there was work to be done.

Ai, taking a moment to realize what was happening, followed Kenoki to the doorway.

"Kenoki-san! You're not doing this alone. You were the one saying we are a team, and to not force others away," Ai called after her squadmate. Her breathing was still ragged. "I've let enough people just leave, and I'm not going to let you do the same." A sadness welled up in her chest, her eyes starting to tear up.

Turning her attention to the medics. "Please get me some painkillers," she said simply.

Verna jumped a bit in apprehension as gunfire broke out on the floor beneath her. She fumbled for her rifle, holding it in her functioning hand. Wearily, she crept towards the door, not quite sure what to expect. The building was silent once again, and beneath her armor, her fingers were sweating with fear.

She cocked the gun, aiming it at the center of the doorway, ready to fire. As she neared the threshold, a face came creeping around the corner, and Verna jumped back in surprise. "AAAHHH!" she screamed, closing her eyes. Her fingers squeezed the trigger of her gun with a death grip, releasing a spray of fire towards the doorway. She waved the gun back and forth, covering the wall of the room with singed spots, all that her miserable attempt at shooting accomplished. Partly because of her terrible aim, partly because the rifle was on its weakest stun setting.

After a long moment of firing, she released the trigger, and her breathing eased. She opened her eyes, thinking to herself, 'ohmigosh did I get him?'

There was a loud explosion as the Anti-Aircraft emplacement that Ashlyn had attacked exploded violently. Natsuko nodded responded with an affirmative to Ashlyn's message before she called in for backup from any nearby allied forces. She shortly received confirmation that backup was on it way as were dropships. Natsuko tried to stand up to go help out Camhi and David but couldn't move because of the searing pain through her leg. Evidently either the drugs were doing the opposite thing or they hadn't taken effect yet. Probably just not working yet... Natsuko reasoned.


*****

Kenoki was about to charge in when her tenshi alerted her to movement incoming from all angles. It was around then that Kenoki found herself surrounded by allied green forces. They motioned for her to move out of the way before they would move in.

David was knocked over by the few shots that got through the wall and impacted his armour. From what little of the room he had seen he knew that he had just been shot by one of his own. David rolled pushed him self up and reched up blood which fell onto the ground. "You moron! I am an ally!" David called into the room as he pushed him self to his feet and leaned up agaist the wall as a brace. David turned the corner with his gun ready in case Verna decided to shoot at him again. "We have to leave now! Get up and move!" David walked over and pulled the cadet to her feet and pulled her towards the door.

As they reached the door the street became a storm of small arms fire, light artillery and shouting. The sound of chargeing foot steps can up from the floor below them. David droped down and brough his gun to bear on the door. A call came from outside the door: "Sub Leuitenant Stryker, My name is master petty officer Roslyn, me nad my squad are here to extract you and your team please do not shoot us." As the peacekeeper said that she held his gun out in a show of nonagression and steped out into view. David moved over to the relief team pulling the cadet along behind him. "We have one other squad member in the building to the north of this position and another that is near the AA site that may be in serious trouble."

As David steped out into the hallway he saw that the relief group was composed of both Peacekeepers and greens. He was a little weary of the greens but this was their planet now and he was just happy they were helping. Roslyn took a step back to give David room to get through the door. "We have a unit on the ground secureing the AA site as we speak lead by Cadet Charles Alexander. So lets get over to the building north of here." David readied his gun and signaled to move out.

The team arrived at Natsuko's position shortly there-after with no problems. As the group got closer to Natsuko Roslyn called over the comm to Natsuko to inform her of their arrival and to not shoot them.

Natsuko sat leaning against the wall as the group came in. Her forearm weapons were leveled at them, but she didn't fire. I think it's safe. Natsuko thought to herself before lowering her forearm weapons. "I think we have 2 more somewhere out there. Cadet Kenoki Hirahara, and Cadet Kitano Ai." Natsuko said before grasping her leg as it spasmed in pain. "Itteiiii" Natsuko instinctively shrieked in Yamataian.

As Verna saw Natsuko shriek in pain, she was only reminded of her own injury. The arm sent a shock of pain coursing through her. She bit her lip, a tear of suffering welling up in an eye. "Uhm... we could maybe... use some medical attention?" she muttered weakly, unsure if it was her place to talk. She felt uncomfortable with the greens... she had little room in her heart for the military of her disgraceful homeworld. If she hadn't been in such pain, she probably would have been tempted to say something snide.

Charles and a team of three Peace keepers along with 6 Greens had quickly secured the space that had formerly been occupied by the Red's and the anti-air inplacements. There were only a few remaining hostiles left at the site and the ones that weren't killed quickly by the team either surrendered or ran off to escape into the ruined city. Charles scaned for any friendly UOC signals close-by in hopes that who even opened up the air for the recovery team was still there to reap the reward.

His armour displayed that there was a weak UOC signal comeing from the ruined building near-by and displayed a warning of failing life signs. Charles turned to the other three peace keepers and yelled to them before running over to the failing signal: "Remiréz we need a medi-vac here NOW! Ayane and Yoshiko with me!" As He got closer he notice that the sinal was moving slightly towards the second team's possition. As he jumped up to the top of the building with the asistance of his suit's propulsion he saw why. When he landed he ran over to ashlyn, who was trying to half crawl along in her damaged power armour, and crouched down next to her and held out his arm to show that he wasn't hostile. "Nice work on the AA there Ash how about we get you home and let you get some rest there Hon?"

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David heard verna's mumbled words and looked over to Roslyn. "Is there any word on the remaining three of our squad?" Roslyn looked off to one side as she called out to the other squads to answer David's question. "Well sir as of now the remaining three of your squad mates are acounted for with one in serious medical condition and one with a missing limb. Medi-vac is on the ground to retrieve the wounded and I have just signaled for our ship to retrieve us." David nodded and looked over to the Greens and bowed his head slighly. "Thank you all for your rescue we will leave this in your hands then. Let's get to the Extraction zone."

The medics obvious weren't listening to Ai's request for painkillers. Instead, they pulled and shoved her back into the building, the peacekeeper not putting up too much of a resistence since she was still in a PA and didn't want to hurt them. "Stop pushing. Let me go!"

Just as she was forced to sit down, some men appeared in the doorway. Just as she raised her arm to fire, a medic told her to stop. The men were Greens. Ai sighed, relieved.

As the dropship that was sent to pick up David and the rest of his group lifted off he stared out the window at the city below as in shrank into the distance. As he started to relax the pain that his body had repressed started to errode and pour through the barrier. Slowly the pent up pain of the last hour filled his body and forced him to his knees with his arms across his stomach. As the pain got worse he started to cough blood onto the floor of the ship and couldn't stop as he fell to his side.

The medic on the ship rushed over to try and asertain what was wrong with him. The young peace keeper tried to open the Tenshi that David was wearing but it was fused shut so she had to rip it open useing the agment strenght of the suit. After the chest was open she quickly scaned David as he continuted to hack and clench up against the pain that filled his body. Daivd was covered in varying degrees of burns including some radiation burns from destruction of the ship. He also had sustained 3 broken ribs and severe internal trauma because of his less then elegant landing. The reason he started to cough up blood was because one of the shards from his broken rib had pierced his left lung slightly. The medic quickly retrieved her kit and got to work to try and save David's life.

Natsuko felt fine in comparison to David, and by the time the pickup crew arrived she was ready to go. Talk about a bad week. Natsuko thought to herself as she was helped to the transport. "Did you find everyone else?" she asked one of the rescuers. Natsuko couldn't wait to see Ai, she was perhaps the one person other than David left from her old life. If you die too.... Natsuko shuddered as she thought about what that would mean.

Ashlyn rested against a bulkhead on the ground, wounded but alive. She was bleeding internally, but David was a higher priority to her so after the suit report fed to the medics she didn't say anything after all she was still conscious. It beat being on the planet, and she owed Charles for picking her up but was worried about David the most.

They were off Kennewes, but she still hated her armour. She almost wished she was back on one of the training ships. They were going to command them or something? Well it didn't matter. I need a hug...also not to die.

Ai was led into the same room as the other peacekeepers by a medic. She waved with her remaining arm, it'd still be a while before her other arm grew back, before she was sat down and the medic left. "Thank you...." The peacekeeper mustered a weak smile before leaning back and sighing. She was seriously drugged out with painkillers and wanted to sleep.

The medic had sedated David and continued to try and keep him alive. The Drop ships quickly docked with the Gunship that had come to the aid of the Squadron. After the doors of the drop ships opened a flood of medics poured into the ships to attended to the wounded. They quickly picked up David and laid him on a stretcher. Another two medics scanned Ashlyn and quickly helped her onto another stretcher. As Ashlyn and David were both rushed off to the medical bay the remaining peacekeepers were treated in the hangar bay with Hemo-synth and simple splints for the broken limbs.

As the dropships docked with the gunship, the hangar doors closed behind them. Silently the ship slipped into hyperfold as it hurtled itself toward Tokyo. During the flight, all were stabilized and treatment began, though it would take quite some time for the sqaudron to ever reach full operational status again. Like many before have discovered, and many to come shall as well, time would be the best medicine for those wounded, both physically and mentally.

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As each individual crewmember's treatment concluded they were all released and allowed to go their seperate ways. There was no ceremony since all were being released at seperate times, but nonetheless they each received commendations for their actions in battle.