|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:08:54 GMT -5
Drive Train
Sheena skidded to a halt in the entry to the Control Room. Something was definitely not right here. No laser burns scarred the walls of the nerve center of the base; no blood stains or structural damage were present either. Cautiously, she walked into the room. A voice coming from one of the command stations caught her attention. "Drive Train? Most intriguing. Not who I expected to arrive first, but no matter. You'll do just fine."
Spinning to face the new voice, Sheena sized up her foe. A well-toned, if short, male body was hidden away behind a black form-fitting suit with full-face mask. A belt with a number of pockets in it hung around his waist, and he was flipping a small, technologically advanced-looking disc in his right hand, his feet kicked up on the console he was seated in front of. Sheena threatened the interloper: "Okay, vicky, put the thingy down and stand up nice and slow. That way I don't gotta stomp a mudhole in ya."
The intruder laughed quietly, but complied. He slowly stood and faced Sheena head on. He caught the disc in the hand he was flipping it with previously. "Oh, Drive Train, you certainly live up to your amusing reputation. I highly doubt you could take me for anything but a drink, and that," he smirked, looking pointedly at her mechanical limbs, "is simply something I'd rather not have to be subjected to."
Sheena growled softly. "You little punk! I'll kick yer ass fer hurtin' my chompies!"
The intruder spread his arms and responded calmly, "You're certainly welcome to try."
Sheena concentrated for a brief moment to send her energies into her kinetic converters... but that was all the time the intruder needed. He flicked the disc at Sheena while she was powering up, and it connected solidly with her left shoulder plate. For the briefest instant, Sheena thought the attack was a joke. Then the disc kicked on, releasing a focused EMP burst directly into her left kinetic converter. Sheena's building energy was released as a massive burst of red lightning hit the ceiling of the control room, then the real problem started. The nerve feedback made it feel like she had thrust her missing left arm into a white-hot furnace. Sheena screamed and fell over, her left arm and leg now 90 pounds of dead metal weight.
The intruder slowly strode over to where Sheena lay twitching on the ground. "Well, that was easy." He tapped a previously unseen comm device in his left ear. "Tango Three to Tango Leader. Two for pickup." He knelt and put a hand on Sheena's back, and the two of them disappeared in the flash of a teleportation effect.
|
|
|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:10:51 GMT -5
Lady Britania
Tania looks down at the core access as her navcomm beeps. “Britania.”
“Tania, Scarlet. We’re taking a pounding in here! What’s your status?”
“I’m at DOGMA’s core access now, stand by.” Tania punches in a code.
“Working.”
“DOGMA, grant core access.”
“Working… Authenticate for core access.”
“Authentication: Lancelot-03, Taliesin-03. Lady Britania; Tango-051”
“Authentication verified… Working… Unable to deactivate countermeasures. Outside interference preventing shut-down.”
“What type of interference?”
“Working… Commands for all countermeasures are being run remotely from an outside source using our wireless interface.
“DOGMA, shut down all wireless interlink access.”
“Working… all interlink access has been shut down.”
“Deactivate all countermeasures!”
“All countermeasures deactivated.”
Tania sighs. “Display screen.” A monitor slides out of the core. “Show all base cameras.” The screens come to life and Tania can see Dawn Patrol members standing around the now deactivated weapons. Her navcomm beeps again.
“Tania, good work. Do you know what caused this?”
“Yes I do, let me finish up here. I’ll meet Crimsonstar and you in your office in ten minutes.”
“Okay, see you there.”
Ten minutes later…
Crimsonstar slams his fist against the desk. “Damn it Kathryn, Alex could be in trouble, I need to get back to our apartment!”
“Marius, calm down. I’ve already sent a Security team to check it out. You have duties here.”
Crimsonstar sags back into the chair. “I’m sorry; it’s just… all this…”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Tania walks into the office and drops into another chair. “So, someone was accessing DOGMA from an outside source. Whoever it is, they activated the countermeasures.”
Scarlet Scorpion shrugs off the medic working on her shoulder. “I’m fine. Go make sure the Doctors don’t need help in the Infirmary with the others.”
“Yes ma’am.” The medic walks out of the office.
Crimsonstar leans forward in his chair. “How is it possible that someone got into DOGMA’s core to do something like that?”
Tania shakes her head. “After Darling penetrated DOGMA and downloaded all our info, Scarlet had me go into the system and install some new security protocols. Unless someone has a high enough security access, they shouldn’t have been able to get into the core without setting off alarms to Hell and back. And right now, there are only three people in Paragon with Security clearance enough to get into DOGMA’s core, and they’re sitting in this office.”
Scarlet frowns. “So what you’re saying is, the options are: one of us three is a traitor, it was someone with a higher level access, or we have problems with an extremely talented hacker.”
Tania nods. “That’s what I’m saying.”
Scarlet puts her head in her hands for a second. “I refuse to believe that it was one of us. It doesn’t make sense. It HAD to be someone else. You and I were in the base, and Marius was out of the country with a witness. Can we find out who did it?”
“Well, I can run a back trace and try to track where the signal came from, but it means we would have to reactivate wireless access to DOGMA.”
“Meaning whoever did this could be waiting for us to do just that, and they could try something again.”
“Yes.”
Crimsonstar looks at Tania. “Wait a minute. Just a second ago, you said that there were only three people IN PARAGON with a high enough clearance.”
“That’s right. If it’s not a hacker, then there’s only one other person on the planet with high enough clearance to get into DOGMA without setting off alarms that I am aware of.”
Scarlet leans back in her chair and sighs bitterly. “Lady Jane. Damn it. Okay, Tania, for now, let’s leave outside interlink access for DOGMA disabled. That way, if someone wants to tamper with DOGMA again, they are going to have to be physically in the base to do so, and then we’ll have them. Install some hidden security cameras at DOGMA’s core access station, but put them on an independent server and power source, that way, if anyone tries it again, they won’t be able to squirm out of what they did by just erasing any reference to themselves from DOGMA.”
Crimsonstar leans forward. “Before we go any further, I think the two of you should see this.” He hands over a jump drive to Scarlet. Scarlet plugs it into her monitor and waits for the video to come up. He leans back as Scarlet and Tania watch the cleaned up video in stunned silence.
“How could…Why… t-this is…I…” Tania stammers, trying to come to her senses as she tries to absorb what she just saw.
Scarlet just sits there for a moment, trying to come up with the words to say something. “My… my god…How could they have done this? To betray your own race this way! For god’s sake, Hero 1 and Lady Jane were a couple! She willingly let him go to the Rikti homeworld knowing what would happen to him?!? What the hell is wrong with her? How could she betray us like this?”
“I know, but the question is, what are we going to do about it? And how much danger are we in now that we know the truth. There was a tracking device inside the recorder, so you can bet that Lady Jane is going to think that we’ve figured it all out. I’d say that the compromise of our defenses is ample evidence of that. Along with the fact that the sensors went of at my apartment and there’s no answer from Alex, are there other attacks maybe going on against other members?”
Scarlet shakes her head. “Just…unbelievable… I’d have to say that we need to expect the worst. We need to start making plans on how we’re going to handle this.”
“Should I talk to my Great-Aunt?” asks Tania. “Surely she couldn’t have known about this. She may be able to help us.”
“No, let’s hold off on that,” Scarlet replies, “I know that she’s family Tania, but we don’t know how high up this goes yet.”
“So what do we do?”
“We need to issue a recall.” Crimsonstar replies. “If there are other attacks going on, we need to get everyone warned and to safety.”
Scarlet nods. “You’re right Marius. Okay, let’s get it…”
DOGMA starts beeping. “Warning! Explosive ordinance detected in this office! Recommend immediate evacuation!”
The three of them jump to their feet. Scarlet says “Quick! Out!” They rush towards the office door and…
A large explosion rips through the office, rocking the entire base…
|
|
|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:15:56 GMT -5
Iron Goliath
Iron Goliath's massive bulk lumbered out of the vehicle hangar area and into the hallway. There was a tiny accessway leading from the hangars to the main base complex. Loni wasn't sure if Goliath would fit through there, but she did not want Alex to go first; even if it meant getting stuck behind the mech if it got wedged in, it was better than his walking face-first into a laser barrage.
"Are you sure you're going to be able to fit through that?" Alex asked her, eyeing the passageway dubiously.
Goliath's head swiveled around, it's green eye lenses looking at him. *bzztclick* ARE YOU IMPLYING THAT I'M FAT?!? *clickbzzt*
Too late, Alex realized the blunder he walked into. The Goliath squeezed into the passage, its huge hands held up, palms to the walls and puuuushed, bending the previously solid-looking wall on one side and shattering the glass enclosing the entry portal monitoring station on the other. Free of the confining space, the Iron Goliath stepped into the central axis hallway, Alex close behind.
A pair of defense lasers left score marks on Goliath's chest before being crushed. Loni ignored the warning flash of an indicator light telling her about something or another overheating or somesuch; all her attention was focused on getting through the gauntlet of super-heated energy beams. As much as she could, she watched out for Alex's progress also. She could hear shouts, high-pitched energy whines, crashes and small explosions coming from the the med labs and the portal rooms as they passed those. She wanted to go into each and help her fellow Patrollers (not to mention the base's support staff) who were fighting their own battles, but Alex insisted that the best way to help would be to shut down the whole defensive system, and to do that they had to get to the Main Control Room.
Warning lights were flashing and smoke or steam filled the axis halls as the pair reached the intersection. Loni braced herself for another laser onslaught when suddenly...
...there was silence. The omnipresent whine of highly-charged lasers simply ceased. Alex held up a hand and stepped forward, cocking his ears (even though Goliath's auditory sensors were only a tiny fraction better than human hearing) and said "They've stopped..."
The two stood still for a couple of minutes, the only sound was the ever-present hiss of green gases escaping from Goliath's joint seams. *bzztclick* I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT. BUT DO YOU THINK -- *clickbzzt* Loni was interrupted when a massive explosion rocked the base, centered on the Main Control Room. Smoke and debris filled the hallway and Alex fell on his back from the concussive force of the shockwave. Loni held Goliath's four-fingered hand down next to him, providing him a support to get back to his feet.
The two Patrollers rushed down the hallway, reaching the archway to the nerve center of the Dawn Patrol's base. The room was a shambles, huge slabs of wall and ceiling were scattered about the room, the main operations center was a sparking, burning mess. Overhead equipment blasted sparks throughout the room. A gloved hand could barely be seen, poking limply up from the rubble. Alex had started into the room when a nearby console exploded, saved from injury only by Goliath's massive armored forearm.
At that moment, a shout for help came from the end of the hall where it led into the Dawn Patrol's newly opened lounge area. One of the staffers was shouting that Lady Victoria was hurt and needed help. *bzztclick* SEE TO LADY VIC, ALEX. IT'S TOO DANGEROUS IN HERE FOR YOU *clickbzzt* Alex looked into the hell that used to be the Main Control Room as another console burst into a fountain of sparks. "What about you?" he cried.
The Goliath mech knelt down. With a burst of steam, its head flipped back revealing Loni's own, small one. Even with her hair a sweat-soaked disheveled mess, Alex thought she never looked so lovely. Her brown eyes looked into his and she cracked a strained smile. "Alex, this is what Goliath was made for. My great-grandpaps didn't build a machine for war. That's why he fled Germany along with G. And even though these past few weeks, I've been waging battles on all these cultists and demon-ghosts, and gangbangers and murderers, Goliath is still just an overgrown forklift... a construction robot. Our friends and teammates are buried under all that and I'm the only one here right now that can get them out. I'll be fine." The Iron Goliath mech rose to its full, imposing height. As its hands grasped the head and started to swing it back into position, Loni called out to him "But... a kiss for luck wouldn't hurt."
Alex blew her a kiss just as the mech's head clicked and locked into position, then watched as Loni piloted her aging-but-powerful behemoth into the room, huge hands lifting tons of broken structure in her attempt to rescue those trapped beneath. Offering a quick prayer for her safety, he turned and raced to the lounge to do what he could for Lady Victoria.
|
|
|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:17:40 GMT -5
Scarlet Scorpion
The buzz is what woke her up. The buzz in her ear. No, not a buzz ... a high pitched whine.
Then the pain. She winced as a bolt of anguish shot from her leg to her brain. The last time she felt pain like this was when her powers manifested, killing Mark Vargis in the process. That was hell ... this was hell.
"Mph ... damph ... wh ... ar ..." Scarlet started coughing and each exhale burned her throat. Breathing in scratched her nostrils. She winced again.
Calm down. The voice in her head was her own. She lay still and the pain from her leg subsided, but she could feel a warm trickle of liquid tickle her forehead. Scarlet slowly opened her eye and had to flicker her lid to brush away debris. Light was coming from somewhere. Scarlet was trapped under some metal wreckage. She tensed various muscles and was thankful she could feel her entire body, even if some attempts opened floodgates of pain.
Heavy footsteps were getting closer and Scarlet was beginning to orient herself. The explosion was massive ... or she was too close to it. Battling against the Council and Sky Raiders, she was used to explosions and being in the proximity of missile and concussive blasts, but this was something different. The rubble around her seemed to vibrate and pain was introduced with each thud against the ground.
"Who ... th ... fu ..." Her eyelid clenched shut as she failed to curse everything happening to her. Then she realized the cause of her intermittent suffering: Iron Goliath. Loni survived the base attack! Scarlet could hear Loni talk but her words were muffled. Breathing in to speak, her lungs filled with fire and all Scarlet could do was mumble in frustration.
The rubble shifted and more light appeared along with wisps of smoke. Scarlet closed her eye and tried to stay still. Loni was here to the rescue. Scarlet did not like feeling helpless. She was angry she could not do more. She hated that this was happening. Yet, she surrendered to the increasing pain and her dark prison turned black. ---
The metal frame trapping Scarlet was lifted and thrown to the side. *bzztclick* SCARLET! I FOUND SCARLET. WE'LL GET YOU TO MEDBAY. CAN YOU HEAR ME? SCARLET?! *clickbzzt*
The battered red-head did not respond.
|
|
|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:18:51 GMT -5
Iron Goliath
Working her mech's control systems, Loni lifted and set aside piece after piece of steel and concrete to reach the body beneath the rubble. As the last bit of debris was moved, she saw the flaming red hair. *bzztclick* SCARLET! I FOUND SCARLET. WE'LL GET YOU TO MEDBAY. CAN YOU HEAR ME? SCARLET?! *clickbzzt* As carefully as she was capable of, she had Goliath lift the battered woman up and carry her out to the hallway. Even though the mech had a comm system that was independent of the Dawn Patrol's communications network, she still couldn't get anyone to receive her transmission in the medical area, so she just cranked up the volume of her external PA system and screamed for a medic. "Shit," she thought, "they probably heard that one out on Talos Island."
At least they heard it in the medbay, because a moment later, a pair of med staffers came pushing an actual gurney. "Sorry," one said. "The porters aren't working. Not much of anything is. We're having to rely on actual surgery and --"
*bzztclick* SPARE ME THE DETAILS... I THINK THERE ARE MORE PEOPLE TRAPPED INSIDE. SEND BACK MORE GURNEYS *clickbzzt* Loni piloted Goliath's ponderous bulk back into the Main Control Room. After several more minutes of sifting through the damaged room, she had uncovered Crimsonstar and brought him out to the hallway where the medics took him and carefully placed him on another gurney for transport back to the medical bay.
Surveying the room, Loni thought she had gotten everything when she spied a bit of blue-and-white underneath a shattered portion of the circular conference desk in the center of the room. She lumbered over to it and lifted it off, recognizing Lady Britania underneath. *bzztclick* I FOUND ANOTHER ONE *clickbzzt* she called out when suddenly, with a creaking moan, the overhead holo-projector and a ton of supporting ceiling structure broke loose. The Goliath dropped to one knee over the fallen Lady Britania, slamming one massive hand down on the ground for support as it flung the other one out, using it and the huge back to prevent the tremendous weight from flattening the fallen heroine. However, a slim piece of steel punched its way through the Goliath's laser-scarred torso, causing a scream from inside. The pointy end of the steel stopped inches from Lady Britania's face... a slow trickle of red running down its length.
|
|
|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:19:20 GMT -5
Lights End
Alex picked up his step as he raced to the lounge. He attempted to activate his hover boosters as he hopped over and around debris, but nothing happened. It looked like his suit was damaged much to badly. He ran into a few staffers trapped under some light debris, pulled the ones who were ok out, and told the others to go help as much as they could, then to get themselves to the infirmary ...
He entered the lounge, seeing the mess that was left from the explosion that rocked the base earlier. He scanned the area quickly with his eyes as he noticed a crack running through his left lens. "Lady Vic!?! Are you here!?!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, trying to get any sort of response. He heard Loni's Goliath yelling for others down the way, and as he looked towards the sound of her voice, He glimpsed an arm laying out of the rubble. "Oh hell.. Lady Vic!" He climbed across the rubble, tossing what he could out of the way. He mustered up all the strength he could to lift a larger piece of debris off of Victoria. She lay there unconscious, with what looked to be a few wounds steming from the explosion. Alex quickly yelled for a Medic, and then checked her pulse with his index fingers pressed up to her neck. "Good.. she's still alive. MEDIC!!" he yelled again, as one of the Medical teams ran through the area. He helped them to get Lady Vic onto a stretcher, and watched as they rushed her off what was left of the infirmary. As soon as they got out of his sight, he rebegan his search for any life as he sifted through the rubble in front of him.
|
|
|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:20:12 GMT -5
Bubblellusion and Color Guard
Erica Crawford and Heather Walker are walking across the PCU campus. They had just gotten out of their last class for the day and are headed for their dorm room, talking about how their day was, what the new gossip was, and trying to figure out what they were going to do for the evening.
“So did you want to hit the cafeteria for dinner or go out someplace?” Erica asks Heather.
“ Let’s go to that new greek place up by ICON and try it out.”
“Okay, that sounds…” Erica stops talking as a young girl walks up to them.
“Excuse me, Miss Walker? Could I get your autograph? I’m your biggest fan!”
Heather smiles and says “Sure!” She takes the pen and paper the girl offers. “What’s your name?”
“It’s Missy.”
Heather signs the paper ‘To Missy, keep on rockin! Bubbles.’ She hands the pen and paper back to her. “Here you go.”
“Oh thank you so much! You are so nice!” The girl takes off.
Erica giggles. “Price of fame sis.” Heather was the Lead Singer and guitarist for the all girl band, the Sidechicks. Their recently released album had rocketed to the top of the charts with their first single ‘Chicks dig the Cape’. Now Heather was getting recognized everywhere she went, and was bombarded with requests for autographs and photo’s. Heather had taken to the new fame with seemingly ease. She was always willing to take a moment with a fan, and never turned down a request for an autograph or a photo. She loved all of her fans.
Heather shrugs. “It’s no biggie.” She had remained so humble through the whole process, the fame had never gone to her head. “So, let’s drop off our stuff at the dorm and go get something to eat…” She stops as a helicopter roars to a hover over the two of them and dark clad troopers holding weapons started dropping out of the chopper towards them. The troopers drop to the ground aiming their weapons at the girls. “Both of you, on the ground now! Don’t resist or we will use force!”
Without thought, both Heather and Erica raise their shields, and the troopers start firing at them. Heather raises her hands and sends a wave of pure force away from her in a circle, flinging the troopers violently away from the two of them. She then puts a hand on Erica’s shoulder and renders the both of them invisible. “Fly!” The two of them take off into the air, flying away from the campus as the troopers fire at the spot where the two girls were before, hitting nothing.
As the two of them speed away from the campus, Erica shouts “Did you see the logo on their suits? Those were Vanguard Troopers!”
“Why the hell would Vanguard attack us?”
“I have no clue. But obviously we can’t go back to the dorms now.”
Heather frowns. “And our communicators are sitting in our room. What should we do?”
“Let’s go to the base. Miss Scarlet can help us figure this out.”
“Okay.” They turn and head in the direction of the Dawn Patrol base.
|
|
|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:20:55 GMT -5
Lights End
Light continued to search through the rubble of the explosion for any signs of life. In the distance, he could hear the various noises of the various personnel doing the same thing he was. "Damn my uselessness..." he muttered to himself.
Suddenly, he heard a sound, that caught his attention. He heard a mechanical and female scream, as the sound of collapsing building also filled the air. As he instantly realized that the voice was that of Loni and the Iron Goliath, he leaped from the spot he was digging at and ran toward the noise.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So, all I have to do is kill this... Lights End right?"
A man in a business suit stood in the doorway of a dimly lit room. He glanced in at the man sitting in one of the comfortable looking chairs the room had in it.
"That's exactly what I want you to do. You think you can do it, Simon Prague?" The man in the chair leaped forward, pinning the man in the business suit to the wall behind him in the hallway with one of the claw-like blades protruding out of his armor mere inches from the business mans throat.
"I'll do better than that. I'll kill him and his little girlfriend too. If I ever catch you using that name again, I'll add you to the list. My name, is Echdon!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alex slid to a stop in front of the Iron Goliath. He couldn't believe his eyes, seeing the large machine impaled on a large metal shard, with Lady Britannia laying below it. He rushed to the Lady's side, and carefully slid her out of the way, calling for the medics rushing down the hall for help. He then looked at Iron Goliath...
"Please tell me you are ok in there Loni..." He heard muffled sounds coming from inside. "Loni!" he yelled, as he looked around quickly for a way to get her out of there. He recalled that the hatch to get in and out of the machine was in the back, now underneath tons of debris, and realized that he wasn't going to be getting into it that way.
"Computer" he said, seemingly to himself, "give me anything you can about the Goliath that will help me to get Loni out of there.. now!"
|
|
|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:21:22 GMT -5
Iron Goliath
Loni gritted her teeth as the sharp pain from her side filled her brain with a red haze to match the red glow from what seemed like a hundred winking status lights. The metal bar that had passed through Goliath's torso was still pressed against her side. Fortunately, it hadn't impaled her the way it did her mech; it had grazed her side and torn flesh, so that blood flowed from the wound. She couldn't even bend away from the intrusive metal, because even slightly twisting her own body sent wave after wave of agony through her. Loni knew that she probably had a broken rib, maybe two. Sweat and spittle and blood mingled on her chin as she groaned.
The Goliath was a wreck, no uncertainty there. Almost every system was either shut down or on its way there. She couldn't see, because the video systems were gone. She could barely hear anything from outside the massive shell around her; the audio sensors had failed. Clicking the thumb button to activate the external PA system only resulted in silence. The air-conditioning system that Alex was so proud to have finally installed wasn't blowing anything, which only added to her misery. Her limbs were locked in position; not that she would have moved them if she could. Since she couldn't see outside her cockpit, she wouldn't risk the tons of debris she was currently supporting crashing down on the unconscious Lady Britania. She was locked inside an iron coffin. It took all her willpower not to totally freak out, but she feared she was heading in that direction.
Loni didn't even register that someone was outside, pleading for her to answer if she was okay...
|
|
|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:22:33 GMT -5
Mistsong Wolfrunner
The tall, fit, Wolf Meta-human streaked down the halls of the base using his keen senses to find staff and Patrollers alike in rubble and worse. Helping where he can and responding to the many calls for help with the rest of the med-staff, Mist was beginning to tire.
"First day on the job and the base explodes." Mistsong chuckled to himself, "At least the girls are pretty." Wrenching the flow of gravity to lift a fallen beam from a staffer in the lounge, the noise of Lights first shout for assistance with Lady Vic could hardly be heard, once the deed was done and the med staff were loading the injured onto stretchers came the second yell. Charging into the hall and the quick turn into the command room, Mist's eyes first fell on the Patroller being helped by the newly arrived medical team, deciding his skills were needed else where he looked up and was taken aback at the Iron behemoth trapped under so much rubble.
Looking to Lights End Mist flicked his large ears nervously and said, "I can relieve some of the strain on the suit boss, but I wont be able to do it long. If you can get her out of that thing I can see to any injuries." Focusing all of the power in his blood Mist summoned his control over the primal force of gravity and began to neutralize the pressure on the suit. Not able to truly lift the burden, he hoped only to release enough pressure to allow Alex long enough to release his fallen comrade, but how long could he hold out?
|
|
|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:22:56 GMT -5
Lights End
Light looked at the wolf being in front of him. "I'm not sure whom you are, or how you are doing that, but your help is appreciated..." His speech trailed a bit as he concentrated on getting into a position on Iron Goliath where he could open the hatch and get Loni out before the debris above them collapsed in.
"Loni! Tell me you can hear me!" He yelled at the suit. He was almost certain that any audio pickups on G where most likely shorted when the impalement happened, but he wasn't gonna take the chance that they weren't. He pressed his weight against the back hatch, then with a forceful pull, he yanked the link holding the hatch onto the suit apart. He then pulled the hatch open, to see Loni inside.
"Please tell me you are ok... Lets get you out of here now!" He said before reaching in the help her out of the suit.
|
|
|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:23:27 GMT -5
Iron Goliath
There was a barely audible groan coming from outside the broken mech's iron shell which coincided with a white-hot fire tearing through Loni's side as the steel skewer started moving, being pulled back through the torso. She let out another gasp of pain as it scraped along her side. Then she could hear pounding on the back hatch, and Alex's voice.
"...hurry..." she muttered through gritted teeth.
Then came a rush of (relatively) cool air as the hatch parted, and a pair of arms reached in to grip her underneath her arms. Whimpering, blood trickling from her lower lip that she bit down on to keep from screaming as her broken ribs shifted about when Alex tugged and pulled and slowly drew her out of the Goliath's cockpit.
"...T-Tania..." she barely got out as a wave of pain-induced nausea crashed over her.
"She's okay, she's okay. The medics have her, you saved her," Alex replied as he got her completely free of the mech's torso. Several sets of hands helped lift her and carry her clear of the huge pile of rubble that seemed to have shifted a foot or so above the Goliath's back. Nearby stood the wolf-like humanoid figure, arms outstretched, eyes closed in concentration. She recognized him as Mistsong, a potential Dawn Patrol recruit which she and Lady Britania had led on a tour of the facilities recently.
As she was placed on a waiting gurney, a respirator held over her mouth and a compress being pressed against her bleeding abdomen, the wolf lowered his arms and the full weight of the holo-projector and the supporting structure returned to the Goliath's back. At that moment, the elbow joint of the right arm (which had been locked straight, hand pressed to the floor) failed, and tons of debris collapsed, taking the mighty metal behemoth to the ground. Dust, blowing out from the pile of rubble, covered everything as people raised their arms in an effort to protect their faces. An eerie silence, a bubble of noiseless-ness, filled the room while outside people shouted and things crashed and electric outlets popped and sparked and the whoosh of fire extinguishers could be heard. As her gurney was moved away from the center of the Main Control room, Loni reached out a hand, fingertips extended towards a massive metal one which was missing one of its fingers, that could still be seen poking out beneath the pile of twisted metal and concrete.
|
|
|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:24:04 GMT -5
Mistsong Wolfrunner
Feeling relieved now that the debris was released, but exausted, Mistsong shook to rid his dark grey fur of some of the dust that was now filling the room from the terrible collapse on the suit. Grabbing his canteen for a drink to void the dust from his mouth as well he then offers it to Lights End. After the Patroller has a drink and Mist believes he is unharmed by his movements he states, "Go with her mate, you will be a busy man after the real clean up starts. This may be the last quiet moment we get for a while."
After retrieving his Canteen Mistsong refastens it to his belt, and takes a moment to listen to the sounds of mayhem in the other rooms. "I have to move on, more injured to care for... didn't look more than a few busted ribs and some extreme exhaustion, she should be ok."
Mist takes a moment to rest his mind after the trying exertion, and thinks to himself. "I hope all were as lucky."
|
|
|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:24:34 GMT -5
Drive Train
The pain was incredible. The flood of excruciating sensations being sent from the neuronic simulators in Sheena's left arm and leg were, at first, the only things telling her she was still alive. A cold wetness surrounded the rest of her body, a condition that the fiery agony coming from her left side almost, almost drowned out. She could, through the haze of pain, slowly feel other subtle things over time: her visor was no longer on; in fact, she couldn't feel any clothes on her at all anymore. There was some sort of breathing mask covering her nose and mouth, and she was in an upright position. Her hands and feet were not bound, but neither could she move any of her artificial limbs, all of which were, by her count, still attached. Minutes stretched into hours, and hours blended together in the way that can only happen to the sense-deprived. Sheena found herself drifting in and out of a state of semi-consciousness, never fully awake, but also never fully asleep. Her eyes opened once in a while to reveal a red, wavy haze surrounding her, and a conglomeration of tubes and wires beyond. She never heard anything except the pound of her own pulse and an occasional release of... was that bubbles?
After an eternity, her left side began to numb to the pain, eventually reducing the agony to a dull throb. She began to hear voices, too: distant and echo-y, muffled by the liquid she was apparently suspended in. The realm outside her watery cocoon began to take better shape to her eyes, as well: high tech computers, medical monitors, operating tables, and other liquid-filled tubes like hers. She couldn't make out the contents of the others, not yet at any rate, but she was sure they contained something. Her continued efforts to move her limbs were still in vain, though, so she settled into a half-remembered state of convalescence. If whoever took her wanted to break her this way, they were barking up the wrong tree. After all, this wasn't the first time Sheena had been stuck in a medical bay with no way to move or communicate. Heck, this time, she even still had all her pieces and parts.
Beneath the breathing mask, Sheena's face twisted into a wry smile.
|
|
|
Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:25:50 GMT -5
Unknown males (post by Scarlet)
You’ve gotten soft.” The older man dragged a hit from a dark colored cigarette and exhaled through his nostrils. The white smoke deflected off his perfectly trimmed mustache.
“Go to hell.” The younger man looked out the large window toward the Dawn Patrol base, knowing what was happening inside. He looked to the street and people kept walking; unaware that a hero group was being crippled from the inside out.
“Been there and escaped. How could you let her into your heart? You were trained better than that.”
“I can’t … she’s not … it’s not like that.”
The older man grunted in disgust.
“So, I failed the test?”
“Son, you’ve more than failed a test. Your loyalty should be to an idea … a cause. Not to that woman. How could you be so blind?”
The younger man shook his head trying not to say what he really thought. “I know what needs to be done. I just think the plan is flawed.”
The older man dropped the cigarette and backhand-slapped the younger one across the face. “How dare you! Don’t think. Act. That’s your duty.”
The younger man recovered and brushed his cheek trying to rub away the pain.
The older man seethed. “If I were you, I’d gather my pants from under her bed because if she finds out who you really are, then you’d be better off dead. Just because she’s the Field Commander doesn’t keep her from being a woman scorned.”
The younger one looked out toward the hero base again. The older one followed his gaze and looked at a reflection of the young man who, in the course of his duty, had fallen in love with a mark: someone who was meant to be watched, even in the bedroom. At the very least, he got as close as possible to the Scarlet Scorpion and that was commendable. It was unfortunate he crossed the line. It was also unfortunate this recruit had only days to live, because he fell in love.
|
|