Wasteland

[Quiet_Cool]

OOC: Okay, I looked back, actually all the way back to almost the first post (or was it the first post)...anyway, according to the story, we're only a short distance from Zion...meaning we'll be killed in the blast should we remain above ground. That's why i added that part in. Also, if anyone knows yet...I have a few ideas of what to do in the event of a missile hit or miss, so if it's been decided that it will/won't strike the city, could someone PM me and let me know?

 

[bobo_daclown]

Denoitnem:

"A missile?" I think to myself, aloud. And this vessel before us is a Lucian craft. Perhaps, the orb I hold will power it. I approach the vessel and begin to try to open the door. If these women do not take me with them, it provides the only means of transportation that can take me from this place.

Reading the scratchy Lucian letters, I try to twist the protruding knob. With a whoosh of air, the door opens. Stale air pours out of the craft. I enter the craft, looking for an instruction book.

 

[poohlive]

Ooc: I'll pm Money about it. I have an idea for a surface explosion, but one not as bad as first thought. Let me check a few things with her though.


Spike
He quickly punched in the coordinates, landing the ship nearly on top of them. He opened the back hatch, looking at the ship that had crashed.
"That's not good at all, I thought Zion had a no fly zone above it?"
Probably why it had crashed... someone must have brought it down.
He smiled at Satra, glancing at the other person besie her.
"This is all that's left of your team? Did you have to battle or something?"
It wasn't much of any matter, he quickly motioned for them both to get on... before he could though troops began to surround them from following streets and alleyways.
"Satra? What's going on here? I thought you were part of the Zion government..."
All of the sudden things were getting a bit too weird for Spike.



Terrin.
He walked down the hall, towards a darkened door. Inside it was completely empty, except for a bed and what looked like a sink. He had no clue though, honestly out of all the research he had done... Lucian hygene didn't come up that often.
He sat down, unsure what to do next. Certainly was a surprise to find out the princess was a murderer, and her own father. That had to be so devastating. She seemed to have such a nice heart.
They escorted her into the same cell as him. He moved over so she could have room to sit.
"Is that why you crashed into earth? Were you trying to run away from being prosecuted? I'm so sorry, if I had known you were a fugitive I wouldn't have made you come back here. I just thought...."
He trailed off, it seemed as if thinking had gotten him into a lot of trouble lately. He shook his head. There was no plan, no protocol. He was captured, and the Lucians were going to destroy Zion.
Shit, my friends, was definitely hitting the fan.

 

[Moneytalks]

Satra

"Satra? What's going on here? I thought you were part of the Zion government..." Spike said in a panic.

"I am... it's just that Zed and I had a difference of opinion! Lunden how good are you with a lazer rifle? Take down as many as you can... Spike... get us the HELL out of here... head for these co-ordinates..." She thrust a note-com into his hand and it lit up to reveal the co-ordinates.

"Where did that strange guy go?" Lunden shrugged in response.

Satra used her own hand pistol to take out several of the troops. Her aim was uncannily accurate and decidedly deadly.

Spike struggled with the controls. At least he had an order. Order's he could follow. He revved the engines and ignored the sound of ammunition sparking off the hull.

Satra looked down at the comlink and sighed. She took it off and dropped it to the floor grinding it beneath her boot. It was useless now that Zed had traced it.

The vessel rose off the ground and hovered for a few seconds before heading off towards Satra's pre-determined destination. Slightly East of Zion. The last known contact point of the Rebel's. Satra looked down at the troops that had been sent by Zed to kill her. She'd officially gone awol.

The craft doors closed and Satra and Lunden took a few seconds to just breath.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into this Lunden... someone down there was bound to have recognised you... there's no going back now... Zed will have your head... literally if you try and go back. I guess you should know... I'm planning on finding the Rebels... I figure... if I'm not going to be able to help our race officially... I'll damn well use my training to do it unofficially."

 

[bobo_daclown]

Denoitnem:

Inside the craft, I toggle controls hoping to bring the ship back to life. Suddenly, from outside the ship, the shattering sound of bullets riccocheting off the street brings life to the night. Screams pierce the air as I hear a craft land. As it ascends again, the firing stops and I hope that everything is okay.

Invisible, I exit the ship to see a number of militants watching the ship high above. Since the Lucian vessel seems too far gone, I leave the scene, promptly.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Lunden

The ship came down, landing nearby. Things were moving quickly now, which was good, because time was running out. THen things got worse. Soldiers, seemingly everywhere at once, coming out of the woodwork and firing at us. The man who'd changed form was gone, checking out the strange vessel that was apparently Lucian.
As the soldiers came, Satra told me to fire at them with the laser rifle. I aimed my best, hitting most of my targets but missing a few. I'd been good with a rifle once, been trained by a great marksman who just happened to be a bit of a war legend now. He was...oh, well. No sense in reminiscing. The past was the past, right? No bringing it back.
We were gone then, taking off and leaving the odd man behind. I debated speaking up, but decided against it. We were safe, and I was more worried about us, particularly...ME.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

OOC: okay, but if the missile will detonate on the surface and cause a big explosion, I'll need to know that Thallon, Sage, and Valerios, along with thier current companions, need to be underground. So, how about this, since the surprise of not knowing should be fun in itself...PM me in advance if i need to get them underground, and give me time to do something at least fairly interesting with it, say...TEN minutes to detonation...also, let me know how much time, as in "ETA: 25 min." You can OOC this if you want, so long as I don't write ahead of you.
That cool?

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Thallon

It was money time...no more wasting time. We HAD to move, for better or worse. We covered for Valerios and his companion as they leapt across the missing section of bridge. Once on the other side, we all convened.
I wasn't sure if Valerios and his companion had heard about the missile, so I outlined the situation as best I could without wasting too much time.
"I think our only option is to bust through this doorway and fight it out with them," Madge said. I wondered how much of what she said was genuine and how much was basd on her anger over Sten's death. I guessed much of it was the latter. In her eyes, I could see little fear, which told me she wasn't considering the full possibility of being killed, but was mostly picturing doing all the killing. That suggestion would do us little good.
"Valerios, how many Martians are still over there? Do you think we can weave between them?"

 

[bobo_daclown]

Gunnery Sergeant Dekramer:

The sergeant stood behind his men, watching them fire at the AWOL agent. 'Satra,' he thought to himself, 'I'm gonna get you yet.' I noticed another woman with Satra.

The sergeant scowled at the men with machine guns, "Can't ya bloody hit 'er?"

Suddenly, a ship lowered onto the scene, firing with a laser rifle. Like his men, the sergeant leapt to safety behind rubble. While the armed men couldn't move, Satra and her companion boarded the craft and it moved skyward.

"Fire, ya bloody nits!" The men resumed firing until the ship was out of range.

Was that Lunden with Satra? Out of corner of his artificial eye, Dekramer noticed movement. He turned toward it and began changing eyepieces by blinking.

 

[poohlive]

Ooc: Yeah, things are under control now. Money will explain the counterattack, and tell you when the time to get underground will arrive. Don't want to spoil the surprise too much, but it will explode above ground.


Ic:
Spike shooking his head, wiping the sweat from his eyes. Things were happening too fast, he was having trouble keeping up with it all. The coordinates logged in, he closed the hatch. A few people still firing last shots out to the ground.
Great, now they had bigger problems than just a missile.
"Shit."
He looked at the scanner, showing small missiles locking onto the ship. He cursed, flying back down to the city.
"We're being targeted, hold on everybody."
He turned sharply to the left, dodging between two tall buildings. In there he stood, sullenly looking at a map of the city.
"Ok, let's do a little creative flying."
He rocked the thing into a high speed, jutting out through the
high rises and into open air. Quickly he turned low, heading out to sea. In just a short time they were there, and he dove frantically.
The ship lurched forward, surrounded by water. He turned to the right, going along the ocean's coast.
"Ok, little detour. We should be at the location in about four minutes. If everyone would just hang on tight I'll get us there."
He sighed, motiong for Satra to come into the cockpit. He looked at her, sighing, and telling her exactly what had happened. Everything from the Lucian kidnapping, to the stolen transformer, and finally Terrin freeing the princess and staying on the ship.
"He stayed so we could bring this back," he pointed back to the cargo bay. It was filled with the machine.
"He was just doing what was right. Now, now all hell is breaking loose. Satra, I can't command, you know that. You'll have to lead until...." he turned to the front, his hands on the controls, "You'll have to lead."

 

[Darklord]

Valerios

He wasn't fazed much at all by news of the missle, it fit right in with Lucian thinking really if you thought about it a little bit. In answer to Thallon's question he replied.

"Total troops remaining in the building? Not many now if I remember Martian unit sizes correctly. The only question is if there are re-enforcements coming to help them though. But as of this minute right now, we can make it." And putting words to action, he hoisted the other dead man over his other shoulder, and turned off the safety's on the two rifles in his other hands. Nodding to Yournal, she then picked up the injured man, and the two of them looked at Thallon to lead them where ever he felt it best to go.

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Thallon

"Woah!" THe man cried, surprised as Valerios' companion hoisted him into the air. He looked down at me, unsettled.
I had to smile, hoping the bastard was good and scared. He knew he was among my friends now, but had no idea whether or not revenge might be in the cards. I liked that idea.
"ALright," i began, "We'll move quickly, but we'll have to be careful getting underground. If the MArtians see us going, they'll follow. The entire Republic will be in danger then."
I glanced across the Bridgecolumn. If there were reinforcements, we'd have to deal with them as they came.
"Okay, guys," we're crossing the bridge again, "This time we'll all jump--"
THe onslaught on the bridgecolumn ceased then, suddenly. I looked around, questioningly. No one said anything. I ran to the edge and glanced out, cautiously. THe Cruisers wer retreating. DOwn below, I could se the Martian reinforcements about to enter the building turning and heading away.
"What the...?"
It sank in then. EIther they'd recieved the transmission themselves, picking it out of ur airwaves, or they'd seen the missile approaching and realized wht it meant. Either way, they were taking off, and we had to act fast if we were going to get undergraound.
I waved for everyone to join me.
"LEt's go!" I shouted back to them, "The MArtians are leaving..."

 

[Moneytalks]

Sage

"Why they run Thayllohn?" She asked. Everything was happening quickly. As much as she tried she couldn't understand this pack mentality. The only thing she understood was that they followed Thallon for now, and Valerios was back with them. To her mind. This was the only pack she cared about.

Something was about to happen. She could feel it and she didn't like it one bit. She'd been hit by a stray bullet earlier. It had been horribly painful. Not quite like being attacked with claws. This burned more. The heat from the laser singing her wound closed. Convenient, she surmised.

With the Martian troops retreating she was starting to feel real concern. That was not a good sign.

 

[Moneytalks]

Zed

"Sir! Our counter attack is ready!"

"Prepare to fire on my order!"

Zed watched the screen with interest.

"Sir... there is only 20 minutes 45 seconds until impact."

"I'm aware of that... hold your position." Zed barked.

The man at the controls started to sweat profusely, but he held his tongue.

 

[Moneytalks]

Satra

"He was just doing what was right. Now, now all hell is breaking loose. Satra, I can't command, you know that. You'll have to lead until...." he turned to the front, his hands on the controls, "You'll have to lead."

"Of course I'm in charge you idiot... last I looked I still outranked you... now shut up and fly this thing." She growled.

Her mind was clicking into overdrive. Fucking Terrin and his fucking gung ho ideas... he was almost certainly dead by now... unless. She bit her lip.

Zed was up to something. Political intrigue was not her game but right now she needed more information. There was a deadly battle going on and she had a sneaking suspicion it was being played out with the big decision makers... her concern was it was her men... her people that would be slaughtered in the cross fire.

"What else do you know about this incoming missile?" She asked Spike.

"Only what I've already told you..." He swerved the ship expertly. Satra didn't even flinch.

"Zed could have blown that thing away already... I'm sure that HQ knows about it... why is he stalling?"

Spike looked at her with surprise but she ignored him.

"Fucking bastard... he... he wants there to be damage... so long as he protects his own ass... he can still use the explosion and the destructiong to further his cause with with council. FUCK!" She swore.

"We're changing course... get us out of the dome... we're heading broadside... " She started punching the co-ordinates into the control consol.

"My clearance should still work... if we're lucky..." She added with a fatalistic shrug.

She needed to get to the only people she could stomach working with right now. The rebels.

 

[Lady_Siren]

Lucia glared at Terrin. "Are you insane!I did not murder my father" she started pacing "I can't believe he is dead! IT's all your fault! If you hadn't kidnapped me I could have been here to prevent it! Damnit!" she ran her hand through her hair frustration,anger and sadness all clouding in on her at once. "What are we going to do Terrin" she looked at him with a sad defeated expression. "What are we going to do"

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Thallon

"Why they run Thayllohn?"
Sage...I knew there would be questions.
"We're in a tight spot, right now," I said, "We have to run. We have to get underground as soon as possible. Stay close to me, and if you can't be close to me, stay near Valerios."
She nodded, but the answer hadn't satisfied her. I wasn't sure what else to tell her. I could have explained it to her, and she could have handled it, I was certain, but it would have taken too long. Better to explain later.
The others were already on the other side, moving toward the door that Valerios and his companion had opened. I stepped backward, Sage following my lead, and we both ran up and leapt across to the other side. THen we were catching up to the others. THe Andromedians, even carrying our casualties, were incredibly fast, having to slow and allow the humans to catch up now and again on the descent down the stairs. The Martians had evecuated, leaving their wounded and dead to lay as they went. Now and again, one of the wounded would open fire, rarely coming close to any of us, and we would finish them off and continue on. We moved slowly into the street, looking cautiously around, not sure if the evacuation had been a total one. Martians didn't respect even their own kind. Even given their higher technology rate, their strongest asset was still manpower. They were easily the most populous on the planet, with soldiers to spare if necessary. And they would spare them, just to ensure our deaths before leaving the city.
No enemy in sight, so we continued on, moving down the street, choosing to head opposite the direction we'd come in.
"There are entrances everywhere," Madge explained, "And I know most of them. Just be cautious that the enemy doesn't see them. We can't have them underground..."
We followed her lead now, staying close to buildings and creeping through the lower regions of the city like cat burglars in the night...

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Lunden

Satra was in command, but still, I worried. It wasn't in my nature, at least it hadn't always been...
But things had changed since I'd first joined the service.
I did it because everyone my age was. The fun was still at home, but with everyone leaving, who was I to have fun with? My best friend Trina had joined, telling me that it would be one big party on the road, especially when the war was over. Now that would be a party, she'd said. Besides, all the guys were into that militant stage where they wanted to be heroes, save the world, literally in fact. I'd joined to stay with her and to be with them, or at least to be with someone, as my hometown of Miltone had become a ghost town, everybody leaving to join in the fight.
We'd been stationed together for almost three months before she'd dies, but I'd met a guy by then and spent most of my time with him, getting him into trouble with his superiors and having sex with his friends when he was stationed away. I knew better but when he left, the fun went with him, and I had to find a way to amuse myself.
I decided while he was away once that I'd rather be with one of his friends instead and we'd argued, and I told him what had been happening while he was away. The ass hole killed himself, said there wasn't much left in this world to live for, and he couldn't make it broken hearted. His friends shied away from me then, as if the entire thing wasn't their fault but mine. They were ass holes anyway.
I was restationed near The Falls, where I met another guy, but he died in combat just to the North and we retreated from there.
Then I met him...funny to think of him like that, "Him" like he was a godsend of some sort. But he was good to me, and I stayed with him for some time, straying several times when he wasn't as kind as I'd liked or was too busy with his duties, but those occasions were more scattered than in the past and often with the same man, not a friend of his this time, but a long-time companion. I was good to them...I seldom strayed with men they didn't trust.
But those occasions led me to learn much about my new friend. One, he was trusting. I could do as I wanted and he trusted me, which meant I easily got away with those occasions when i strayed. Two, he was a very serious man, who was often too taken by the war to even consider what I might be up to, which also made my life easier. I liked him for that...he knew what he was supposed to know and not what I wanted kept secret. That was good.
But that had gone sour too, and his reputation was something too difficult to escape, bringing me to Zion, where I'd meet with Satra and find myself on Terrin's ship, without Terrin but Spike and wondering if I'd live through the next hour. Geez, why was everybody so serious?

OOC: Okay, Just a little charactization here, but if you were curious, yes, I know she's not exactly a good person, or even close to being a decent person. I based this on someone I used to know (and don't miss). I'm really getting into this thread...

 

[Moneytalks]

Satra

Satra watched the screen before her impassively. She could see that only chaos reigned at the moment. Clearly word had gotten out but rather than an orderly departure citizens were trying to kick each other out of their way in the mad rush to escape the oncoming catastrophe. Worse... there were some who still didn't believe anything bad was going to happen.

The lack of military supervision surprised her. Even for someone as calous as Zed, she'd expected at least a military presence to help evacuation. She hardened her heart against the pity she felt just then.

"What's you're ETA on impact?" She asked Spike. Spike punched up the count down he'd calculated.

"19 minutes and counting..."

"What? No seconds Spike?" She almost joked but she waved him into silence when he went to elaborate. Seconds didn't really mean anything. When that thing hit... it was going to cause damage.

She shook her head. What was Zed waiting for.

They arrived at the checkpoint that would lead them outside the dome. Security was still as tight as ever here. The face of a security clerk registered on their screen.

"Access code"
"Commander Satra... Delta Five Zero Gamma Six Four Three Eight"
"Clearance authorisation?"
"Beta Four Two Seven"
There was a pause.
"Commander... that authorisation code is no longer valid..."
"Well I'll be darned..." she smiled at him. He seemed confused.
"Commander... are you sure."
"Are you... questioning me?" She asked very carefully. The clerk figited.
"Commander... I can't allow your departure without the proper authority."
"It could be that I just haven't had time to access my new clearance codes... it could be that I have better things to do than sit here arguing with a lowly clerk... stamp what you have to stamp and let me loose... or I'm coming over there to teach you a lesson in military command you won't soon forget."
"Sir, YES SIR!" He barked back instinctively punching in the code that would allow them to exit.
Satra switched off communication and sat back with a sigh. Spike manouvered the ship out onto the cargo bay that would allow them to exit the dome.

 

[poohlive]

Terrin.


He stood up, looking at the princess. She hadn't killer her father? Of course, the Matron had set her up, just like he had set him up. All of these fake allegations, and conspiracies. These Lucians were more human than humans were.
"Hey, it's ok," he said, walking towards her. He wanted to hug her, but he wasn't sure if she would have liked it. Honestly, with customs and culture differences, he wasn't sure about a lot of things.
"Listen. We can get out of here. I've studied a few things on this ship, air systems, cargo holds, passages. All I really need is someone who knows a few security codes and we could steal a Lucian scout ship. We'd be on earth... well it's not the greatest place in the universe to live, but at least you'd be alive. I'd make sure nothing would happen to you."
He looked at her seriously, those strange eyes stared back at him.
"It's the least I could do."
The, he sat down, nearly smiling, "At least, it would work if we had those codes. There's nothing really to do though. One last night of life. Honestly, this isn't how I wanted to spend it."

 

[poohlive]

Spike jumped, setting the ship dangerious close to the ground. He swore he could feel the bottom hit a sand dune or two. The ship's nose came up slowly, rising up to the sky. Then, in a desperate attempt it slammed back down. He turned sharply left, right.
Explosions were all around them.
"What in the hell did you do? Zion has never been this pissed off at someone."
They were sending literally hundreds of missles at them. He was barely keeping them off of the ship, it didn't have much for agility, this was more of a speed ship. Speaking of which....
He hit the button, as the ship lurched forward suddenly. It reached for the horizon with great strength. When this thing decided to go, it went.
He turned off to the left, looking down. There... finally.
The engine turned down, only leaving hover. He set it down on the flat ground, well as flat as he could find. In front of them, was the illustrious rebel base. Already a few people were out there armed.
"We're here. I hope you know what you're doing."
He opened the back hatch.
He just thought of something.
She outranked him? Weren't they rebels now too? How could she outrank him?
Letting it go, he kept the ship running.

 

[Moneytalks]

Satra

ooc: [ggls]... ooh I love the indignant thoughts Spike's harbouring! [lol]


IC:

"I ALWAYS know what I'm doing." Satra said blandly.

They stepped out of the ship and were instantly surrounded by a bristling line of weapons all pointed at them.

"Ok... who's in charge here?" Satra called out calmly. Silence.

"My name is Commanda Satra of Delta Squad, 52nd Unit... I've just escaped Zion and I believe you are aware of a missile attack which is about to strike in... oh... 17 odd minutes. Take me to the person in charge... I have information."

 

[Lady_Siren]

Lucia blushed as Terrin approached her and found it difficult to find speech. Taking a deep breath she pulled herself together and forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand "I can't go to Earth. My people will suffer under his rule and he will continue to bring pain and suffering among all races. We have to do something!" Her gaze met his her eyes determined "I cannot and I will not leave. But I do believe I know a way out of here. There is a secret paneling in the floor only my father and I knew about it" She walked over to the corner of the cell and tapped her foot on the floor until it made a hollow sound. "It's some sort of ventilation. If we can find a way to pry up this panel we can get in and escape from there" turning to him she noticed his eyes on her and once again she felt that familar blush creep up her neck.

 

[poohlive]

Terrin



He smiled, looking at her with fascination.
"Well, that'll get us halfway there. We can at least get out of here."
He kicked the panel fiercely, watching it jump down to the corridor below. Giving out his hand, he helped her down first.
"Listen, I know you want to save your country, but right now you are the one who needs saved. I can protect you on earth, I can't protect you out here."
He looked in both direction, not sure which way to go. She had to know about this place though. All he needed was a ship, just one ship, and he would be out of here.
"I give you my word, there are people on earth who can help you. Rebels, who will stand for your cause of peace. We could form an alliance between the Lucians and the humans, and end all of this war."

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Lunden

I can admit that I was scared, but I would hate to do so. Satra was in charge, but that may be a minor issue since we were no longer in Zion. Satra held her poise, as always, but now, she had no power. A good soldier and a great leader, but no power, and that made her almost useless should we get into a firefight.
I watched as she and Spike exited the ship, moving behind them, carefully, trying to keep near the ship in case fire erupted. Being brave was one thing, but being stupid was another. No sense in putting my neck on the line when it wasn't necessary.
Around the two were various rebel soldiers or guards, which I wasn't sure as I'd never seen either before. Their uniforms were once black it appeared, but had faded from so many washings and too much wear and tear. Soon, they'd be wearing common clothes on duty I guessed.
"OK...who's in charge here?" Satra asked, calmly. No one answered her.
"My name is Commander Satra of Delta Squad, 52nd Unit...I've just escaped Zion and I believe you are aware of a missile attack which is about to strike in...oh...17 odd minutes. Take me to the person in charge...I have information."
They didn't move at first, a few of them looking up at the sky as though her mentioning the missile had brought their attention back to it. I was amazed at that. It wasn't like they could have forgotten, now was it?
Two of them, standing almost directly in front of Satra, began to whisper back and forth to one another, words I couldn't make out. I guessed they were the leaders of this group, a small group but big enough to kill us if that was what they intended.
Again, I thought about Satra and the fact that she held no power here and wondered if I'd chosen to align myself with the right people.
I took in a deep breath, realizing I had no choice now.
One of the two stepped forward, lowern ghis weapon.
"I am Dimitri," he said, announcing himself and bowng slightly to Satra, "We understand that you have information for us, but wha is your intent? Why do you bring it to us?"
A good question, I thought, standing there. We might have been miles from here in plenty of time to avoid the destruction had we not stopped here.
What was Satra thinking?