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Post by Laughing Wolf on Mar 22, 2016 4:57:53 GMT -5
It didn't take Claire long to force a dirty hack into the ADVENT network. Her intrusion would be noticed and investigated, but that should come much later. She had a more immediate concern, and more immediate problem: Identify who was here to help and who was here to sweep her off to prison, or worse. Seventeen seconds. She got in.
Twenty two seconds. She'd identified the lampposts farther down the street.
Fifty five seconds. Audio channels opened on the four nearest lampposts, and cross-wired to the microphone on her tablet. A short burst of high-pitched noise-scramble blared from each one, followed by silence and then, "Oh my god, no. No, no, no," whispered over choppy static.
Fifty six seconds. Claire was too absorbed in her success, and the noisy mistakes she made, to notice the rapidly approaching footsteps.
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Post by HSAR on Mar 22, 2016 5:16:37 GMT -5
( Random Commander Hit it.) Sadie leaned around the corner of a building and froze. She'd doubled back onto the main road, hoping for better visibility and longer sight lines. There was a blink of movement. Barely twenty metres away was the runner, a young girl, barely a teenager. She was tapping rapidly away at a tablet. Further down the street, though, there was more.
"Flash traffic - Menace One, this is Menace Two. I have the runner. I am also in soft contact with multiple patrols on foot heading for your position. Repeat, I have eyes on the runner and an enemy force inbound but unaware of our position. Estimate five to eight enemy troops. I will be in imminent close contact - please advise, over."
Anticipating Weisman's order, she leaned back into cover and drew her shotgun.
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Post by Random Commander on Mar 22, 2016 6:18:24 GMT -5
((Here we go!))
Of all the patrols it was sent to, Vrugazoar-958322 counted itself lucky. For the Sectoid collective, the prime place to be was in a potential combat zone with a combined squad firepower capable of decimating an entire resistance force. Vrugazoar recounted its squad as they headed towards the signal - Officer XO-8511, Trooper HS-4207, Lancers ND-2507 and SD-2508, and...
Vrugazoar was interrupted in its mental recount as the towering ADVENT MEC seemed to be pointing somewhere. The Sectoid focused in on wherever it was pointing - a communications pole? No, under it. There was a woman - citizen? It had to know what she was up to.
Vrugazoar inhaled, and allowed itself to go into the link. It mentally reached out, searching, finding, probing. Not too deep, just surface thoughts, don't want to alarm her...
She was celebrating. Celebrating what? Something having to do with the network... she seems to have made a connection. Vrugazoar double-checked the psionic net - sure enough there was an anomaly in the net, the source coming from the pole where the woman was.
She was a terrorist. Vrugazoar's combined patrol caught her in the act before she could do any real damage.
The Sectoid retracted the link it made and immediately switched to the patrol link. Lancers, approach and sieze the terrorist.
Without another word the Lancers activated their modified batons and rushed for the woman. The rest of the patrol squad spreaded out to defensive positions.
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Post by Laughing Wolf on Mar 22, 2016 12:32:12 GMT -5
Claire could easily be forgiven for missing Sadie's approach. If she were an enemy, it would be a mistake forgiven by death or capture, but nobody would say she should have heard the ranger coming. The distant whine of gears and the ground-shaking tromp bellowing forth under nearly a half ton of metallic doom would be inexcusable, even for the deaf.
Claire looked behind her. The MEC's targeting lasers cut through the dark like twin lights barreling down on her from the far end of a tunnel. Her terrified shriek was followed immediately by a bold decision. "Fff- Screw you, murderers!", she screamed into the night, and she hunched back down over her tablet.
Time to run was ticking down as quick as her fingers were tapping. Just as both came to an end, another high-pitched shriek ripped through the air. This time, it was coming from the troops, not the lampposts. Every local ADVENT channel was twisted into one and echoed, repeating into itself and echoed again. The lancers stumbled to clamp hands over their heads and the MEC's train of ballistic alloys suddenly veered to the side, splitting the asphalt two feet from Claire's feet. It missed.
... it worked. Claire ripped her tablet from the maintenance panel and prepared to run. Again.
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Post by Random Commander on Mar 22, 2016 12:56:31 GMT -5
It was a perfect setup - The woman was caught in the act and was about to finish the job, and the aggressive approach of the Lancers should have thrown her into disarray - regarding normal human behavior. But she did it, she somehow turned a perfect capture into a major setback. The Psionic link is going crazy, Vrugazoar-958322 even felt it, it was starting to give the sectoid a headache. Whatever she did, she somehow disrupted part of the psionic component as well as scrambling the material component - or whatever her original objective was.
Vrugazoar looked up briefly to see the terrorist on the move, one of the Lancers managed to get out of his daze momentarily and attempt to swing at the fleeing woman, but ultimately swung wide and hit only air. He then returned to clutching his head in pain. Vrugazoar tried to order a cautious advance, but the ADVENT troopers were all haphazard, and he couldn't get through to them from the link. It clung to the pillar jutting out of the building, peering around the corner to check for any other hostile activity...
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Post by HSAR on Mar 22, 2016 14:40:51 GMT -5
"Menace, Menace Two. I'm in hard contact with the enemy. Repeat, engaging the squad-sized enemy force."
Sadie popped a smoke grenade from her belt and overarmed it in front of the ADVENT MEC. She erupted from cover, firing at the closest lancer as she cleared the side of the building, catching the ADVENT soldier in the shoulder, knocking him back a step. Sadie retargeted on the move and put the second shot into his throat before turning to fire two in rapid succession into the legs of the second lancer.
Dropping the empty gun on its sling, she drew her sidearm and fired four shots at the MEC. She stepped into the smoke and approached the girl, who had wisely stayed down during the shooting.
"Come with me, now, or you will die."
(Sadie's P12 is a 9mm semiautomatic, so it's just for keeping the MEC occupied.)
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Post by Random Commander on Mar 22, 2016 15:21:04 GMT -5
((Figured as much, but I think the smoke by itself would've done good. Still, Sadie's personality is aggressive, so it fits.))
The two Lancers were cut down easily by Sadie's Shotgun shots (She really just needed one per Lancer, but bullets are cheaper than lives - so they say). The first one's arms went limp before it flew backwards from the second shot. The second one dodged the first blast, but his leg was caught in the second and he fell. He crawled towards the two soldiers before ultimately expiring.
Malfunctioning, blind and being shot at, the MEC advanced forward, trying to get out of the smoke cloud to see where the targets are. It's not having much luck with the HUD on the fritz still.
The Officer and Trooper regrouped with the Sectoid, but other than that, there was no further movement from the other contacts as of yet.
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Post by Laughing Wolf on Mar 22, 2016 17:43:30 GMT -5
From one unknown to another, and each stranger and more desperate than the last. Claire jumped anxiously to her feet with her backpack hanging from one shoulder and her tablet hugged tight to her chest.
She looked at Sadie with defiance, determination, desperation and a dirty face, all as if to say, 'Fuck it, what else can possibly happen in this crazy nightmare, now stop gawking and start running.'
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Post by HSAR on Mar 22, 2016 18:11:49 GMT -5
Sadie barely pauses to give the girl a chance to react before grabbing her by the shoulders and dragging the two of them out. She holsters the handgun and reloads her primary weapon while they break for cover, motioning at the girl to stay low. Mag rifle fire erupts through the smoke cloud, but they duck into an alleyway between housing blocks and are safe - for the moment.
"Menace, Menace Two, I have the runner and we're inbound hot on the rendezvous position. Enemies are in pursuit, we are in need of support."
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Post by Jchizz on Mar 22, 2016 19:46:22 GMT -5
Michael quietly approached Penny and Julia's position, emerging from cover once he knew the area was clear. He went to open his mouth when his comm suddenly flared to life.
"Flash traffic - Menace One, this is Menace Two. I have the runner. I am also in soft contact with multiple patrols on foot heading for your position. Repeat, I have eyes on the runner and an enemy force inbound but unaware of our position. Estimate five to eight enemy troops. I will be in imminent close contact - please advise, over."
Michael went to reach for his radio, furrowing his brow. He had to know who this other woman in front of him was and why she had trained a gun on them. Michael drew his radio but did not turn in on, instead addressing Julia. "Who the fuck are you, and why are you pointing a gun at us? Are you with the resistance?"
He wasn't sure if Julia ever replied or not. His attention was torn away by what sounded like a distant crack or static sound, followed by what was clearly gunfire. He took a few steps in that direction to try and see if he could make visual contact, then brought his radio to bear. However, Sadie beat him to it.
"Menace, Menace Two, I have the runner and we're inbound hot on the rendezvous position. Enemies are in pursuit, we are in need of support."
"Fuck." Major snag. The urgency in Sadie's voice made it sound like much more than a standard three man patrol, and they were already in hard contact. Michael clicked on his radio and shot her a quick reply.
"Menace Two, Menace. Get the fuck out of there. Stay low and mobile. Avoid engaging. We're on Campbell's position, proceeding to evac. We'll meet you in a block or two." He looks up to Julia, adjusting his gun in his hands for emphasis. "You're coming with us. We'll drop you off somewhere nearby. If you stay, that ADVENT patrol over there is going to tear you a new one, at best."
He motions with his gun, then reaches for his radio again. "Menace Two, Menace. Locals are gonna cover our escape. If the runner gets hit or can't keep up, leave her. We're in the shits." With that he looks up and begins to move out, motioning for Campbell to oversee Julia.
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Post by Dystopiac on Mar 22, 2016 22:00:54 GMT -5
Penny nodded at Julia.
"After you," she said, motioning in the direction of the rendezvous point.
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Post by Random Commander on Mar 22, 2016 23:29:50 GMT -5
Vrugazoar took another peek from around the corner of its pillar. It noticed that the two terrorists that dispatched the Lancers are making a hasty retreat. It also detected a few more mental signatures headed towards their direction. Another patrol moving to intercept, perhaps?
And then it felt itself reconnect to the psionic link fully, a steady stream of thoughts coming from XO-8511 and her subordinates, as well as the alert status of the sector itself. Now would be a good time to reach out to the other patrol and--
No connection. They did not have ADVENT control chips installed, which meant they were also resistance fighters.
Vrugazoar snarled in annoyance. They had a perfect opportunity for an ambush, even against firepower more formidable than theirs. The cowards they are, not following through with their own setup and just retreating instead. Perhaps this is what a Muton felt when he or she was denied a good brawl.
The Sectoid rose onto its feet, pointed towards the runaways, and hissed. Do not let them escape! Show no mercy!
And so the chase was on.
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Post by HSAR on Mar 23, 2016 5:27:32 GMT -5
"Menace Two, Menace. Get the fuck out of there. Stay low and mobile. Avoid engaging. We're on Campbell's position, proceeding to evac. We'll meet you in a block or two."
"Menace Two copies all. Estimate three-plus enemies remaining with possibly two EKIA. They have an armoured unit and a Sectoid, watch for further reinforcements. See you soon."
Sadie checked the girl over quickly, finding nothing but scratches and an adrenaline rush. She spoke urgently to her, leaning in close as the alien in the group let loose an echoing guttural snarl. Plasma and mag fire punched through the wall they were hiding behind.
"We need to make it a few blocks further and link up with the rest of my squad. Stay close to me and keep your head down. If anything happens, hit the deck and let me work. Let's go."
Sadie led the way, taking turns whenever possible, trying to ignore the persistent pawing at the back of her neck from the alien commander's psionic power.
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Post by Jchizz on Mar 24, 2016 16:38:54 GMT -5
As Michael crossed the street Sadie and the patrol were on, he felt a sudden, intrusive sensation. It lasted only a second, maybe two, but that was enough. It had been years since he last felt the cool, gentle probing, but it was an all too familiar feeling he resented. "Fuck you, pinky."
As he moved behind a bus stop, he slowed slightly and raised his rifle. Instead of emerging on the other side at the same pace, he instead swung the barrel around the bus stop and towards the direction of the earlier gunshots. After a split second to ensure no friendlies were in his line of fire, Michael squeezed the trigger.
"Crack, crack! Crack crack!"
Michael fired down the street in the vague direction of the enemy patrol. The shots were suppressive in nature at best, almost certainly not accurate enough to hit anything, but Michael hoped it would buy Sadie and the runner more time as the patrol moved to take cover. Michael ran to a pillar outside a pristine, white-wash building and took cover behind, taking a few breaths before swinging his rifle around again to let off another inaccurate volley to keep the patrol slowed before he continued on, disappearing down the next street.
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Post by Random Commander on Mar 26, 2016 12:06:20 GMT -5
The remaining members of the patrol were chasing after the runners in the maze (not quite a labyrinth, as they knew the layout) of the Megacity. Just then, more bullets found their way to the squad. The sectoid saw one find its mark on XO-8511's shoulder, in which Vrugazoar felt a pulsing pain coming from her mind. Then a message on the link: Flesh wound, but I can keep on.
Keep running. If we let them escape, they will come again later.Vrugazoar scampered on, but stopped short when it caught a glimpse of an enemy trooper. The sectoid focused, scanning the enemy mind, and then gritted its teeth further when it found out who it was. It was THAT trooper, the smart-mouthed, bold one who seems to be in temporary charge. Its head flared with purple light as it chased and focused on the target. Eventually it was within eye contact with the terrorist. Vrugazoar let loose a built up psychic assault, which was preceded with the following message: You learn to respect your superiors, whelp.((Mindspin, you decide if it succeeds or not, but if it fails, Weisman isn't supposed to get the kill (Its a prime opportuinity for Julia )))
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