Midnight Stroll

This is a space for in-character events that do not occur within the line of duty and/or did not fit into the "Daily Life" section as it played out. Threads herein are meant to supplement character development and flesh out the setting elements, but are not necessary to understanding the plot or characters involved. These events are to be considered canon unless otherwise noted.
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Straken
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Midnight Stroll

Post by Straken »

Night sat heavily on the city. As Fred maneuvered his Caballero shuttle through the jungle of buildings, he could see the streets teaming with huge crowds of mutants. The sight was unnerving, and the veteran pilot found himself wondering how the small ground team could have survived.
“Terran marines may wash their faces with battery acid, but strength and tenacity can only get you as far as the end of your last ammo clip,” Fred thought grimly.
To his surprise, and relief, the stunned silence of the shuttle was broken by the crackling of a radio. Fred played with a dial to try and eliminate most of the static.
“zzzzzz….survivors….shuttles….come in. Ground survivors to shuttles, come in.”
“We read ya, ground. What’s your situation,” Fred replied, although he felt silly asking the last part. It was pretty obvious.
“We are barricaded in City Hall along with the Marines. Their commander gave me this radio. We have several injured down here, and we were told that you had a doctor on board. We Request immediate assistance. “
“Understood, ground. We will do what we can to get to your location ASAP,” Fred responded. Once the radio fell silent again, Fred commed in the other shuttle. “Caballero One, just received a message from some survivors on the ground. They have injured and request your medic. Guess we gotta get to City Hall.”
“Judging from the map, the closest, and safest, place we can set down is in this rooftop here. 'Cept that that sets us about three city blocks from City Hall,” chimed Fred’s copilot as he highlighted a location on the map screen.
“Nice night for a walk at least. Altering course now.”
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: Midnight Stroll

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Radio chatter, and it was quick- meaning business was being discussed. Kwon and Rutthinger both eyed the pilots with anticipation, the former displaying a solemn visage, the latter looking more than a little excited to be in action. Finally, the co-pilot looked back. "Cabbies one and two are descending, we'll be right behind them. Be ready, good chance it'll be hot." The pair of Marines nodded then exchanged a quick look before preparing themselves and their armaments.

On Caballero one, the aging Pilot was guiding his craft after the wash of Cabby two, eyes fixated firmly ahead of him with only the occasional glance at the instruments. If something were dire, his co-pilot would inform him. In the meantime, he spoke to his passengers without looking back. "Be prepared; your skills'll be needed once I put 'er down 'n we pick 'em up. 'Parently shit's goin' down, and they found 'survivors' which I can only imagine means really weird shit's goin' down. Make sure you've got weapons ready too."
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Straken
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Re: Midnight Stroll

Post by Straken »

“Al’ight, approaching rooftop now,” Fred announced as he began to hover the shuttle off to the side of the roof. “Landing zone appears clear of….whatever the hell those things down on the street are.
“I am gonna leave the shuttle to hover just above the roof, at which point I’m switchin’ control over to you. Got it?” he said to his Winston.
“Wait, what? You aren’t actually considering going out there are you?” the copilot asked quickly.
“Of course. Can’t let the doc go with just two chaperones against all those beasties down there, now can I?” Fred said in a genuinely uninterested tone as he brought the shuttle down. After passing control over to his copilot, Fred got up from his seat and walked into the back compartment to prepare.
“Now, the roof top can only fit two shuttles comfortably, so ur gonna haf ta drop me first then move on so the doc’s shuttle can land. Get it? Got it? Get on with it,” he said as he adjusted his flight suit and checked his holstered pistol and sheathed knife; he also spared a moment to check the back for a better weapon, but the best he came up with were extra ammo packs.
“Alright, we’re hovering just above roof level. Stand by for hatch deployment,” the copilot announced after a while. “Hatch is away.”
Fred stood at the back of the shuttle as the deployment hatch opened up and the night air rushed in. He shrunk back a bit as he breathed in the new air. It smelled stale and old. From a cursory glance through the opening the rooftop did in fact appear vacant. He gripped his pistol in hand and disembarked from the shuttle, and relished the feeling of wind rushing through his hair as a gust picked up. He moved quickly away from the shuttle and closer to the edge of the building.
“Alright, I’m clear,” Fred told his copilot, and without a response the shuttle rose and drifted away from the building to make a space for the other shuttles.
The Irishman walked over to the edge of the building and glanced down while he waited for the other shuttles. The building he had landed on was fairly tall relative to the surrounding buildings to the extent that the milling masses of bodies down on the street level were barely recognizable as individual units. He also noticed that the shuttle activity in the area was attracting the unwanted attention that Fred was hoping could be avoided. “Nice night for a walk indeed,” he mumbled to himself.
Having satisfied his curiosity, Fred did a walk around the perimeter of the rooftop to be certain it was empty. Thankfully nothing jumped out of any of the dark corners he inspected, and when he was content with his search he looked skyward as the other shuttles descended as well.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: Midnight Stroll

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

As Caballero One descended, it spun to present its hindquarters to the rooftop in question. "Alright, dismount boys and girls, and you'll be just a phone call away from rescue." As he spoke, the back hatch opened. Kwon and Ruth hopped out first, and Ruth lent his hand to the rookie medic- Mr. Shakespeare made do on his own. With the quartet down, Kwon gave the okay, and Caballero One tailed after its counterpart.
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Straken
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Re: Midnight Stroll

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Fred covered his eyes as the other shuttles offloaded their soldiers and the doctor. Once they pulled away, the pilot walked over to the two marines. “Well, at leas’ someone in this group has actual guns,” Fred called as he drew closer to Ruth, Kwon, and the doctor. “So the run down is that we have injured survivors in the city hall buildin’. We are just over one klick to the East. In between here an’ thar is about three city blocks and a fock load of ugly ass bastards. I have a pistol and a knife, you two have rifles, and doc doesn’t look like he’s packin’. An’ considerin’ how we are outnumbered by an absurdly large margin, I am sure we can agree that stayin’ off the streets in preferable. You marines have anythin’ ta add?”
Luca
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Re: Midnight Stroll

Post by Luca »

Dr. Marcus May dismounted from the shuttle, finding his feet with a thump. His doctor's bag was in his left hand, and by his side, a pistol that he really didn't know how to use that well aside from 'point at enemy and pull trigger'. He abided by the old Geneva convention that a doctor in combat could only arm himself with a pistol, and he'd have some fancy rights that'd protect him from some mean things - but as recent events showed, the Drathonians were oblivious to this.
"Pardon me, Lieutenant , but my name is Dr. May," He introduced himself with an eloquence underscored by stress. He then swallowed a lump in his throat and took a look at the nightmarish landscape ahead of him and the crumbling city hall before continuing, "I trust Ruth and Kwon have the right idea. I'll stay close to them."
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: Midnight Stroll

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Ruth nodded to the Irishman and the doctor who'd until now been silent; it was reassuring to hear the man wasn't a prick, just a quiet fellow. "Of course. Doctor and the Miss will have Kwon as their guardian angel. If you find yourself disembodied, haunt his ass. Right now I say we work on creating a defensive position and possibly a route to the rooftop we can destroy once it's clear. Work on that; Irish, you're with me, unless you have something that makes my point moot."
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Straken
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Re: Midnight Stroll

Post by Straken »

“Sounds like a good start ta me,” Fred replied in a very casual tone. After taking a step closer to Ruth, he pulled out his datapad and brought up a map of the area. “So, by the looks of this map, we won’ actually hav’ tempt the main mob down on the street thanks to skyways connectin’ the buildin’s. The third street we won’ hav’ tha’ luxury, so we will need to find a way of getting’ across alive; whether that means sneaking across, buildin’ something ta get across, or jus’ makin’ a mad dash. Same goes fur getting in ta city hall.
“That bein’ said, we also don’ know what exactly is still in these buildin’s,” The Irishman told the marine. “Tha’ is all the intel I hav’. So tha’ defensive position idea sounds lik’ a good place to start. If thar aren’t any other suggestions, then I’s pro’ly best we get this shindig rollin’.” Having said all he could think of, and feeling unsure of what else to do, Fred turned and walked over to the roof door. Upon further inspection of the door, jiggling the handle, he found the door to be unlocked. He opened the door casually and squinted his eyes to see into the dark corridor. After standing there for a few moments, and convinced nothing was going to run at him trying to eat his tenacious Irish liver, he gestured to the others.
Luca
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Re: Midnight Stroll

Post by Luca »

Marcus nodded. He trusted the Irishman's drawl and tactical knowledge, knowing that his own knowledge was very limited at best.
"Lead the way," He said with a nod as cradled his doctor's bag and held his pistol nervously. It was very apparent to the others through his shaking hand on the pistol that his combat skills were severely limited, "I'll stay in the middle."
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: Midnight Stroll

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Ruth shone a beam of light down the open corridor, his TOR-S the source. With a glance at Fred, he muttered flatly, "Flashlights work wonders." Then he continued down the now illumined stairwell. Fred was second, and Kwon was the caboose. They made it to the ground level and out a back door without harassment. Once on the street, Rutthinger met Haverthorn's eyes. "You've got point. Try not to use your weapon; we're silenced. Medics, stay between us."
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