THEY LIVE! (Kind of...)

[GoldenKitten]

Piercing klaxon's filled the halls with deafening sound as security squads swarmed into every branch of the facility. Central-Research Base #7 had been penetrated, located under the Russian hamlet of Grushevkavinski it was one of 9 class-2 centers controlled by Mallory Arms. Of them all it was also the largest outside of the Eastern provinces with a greater number of individuals aware of the NWO's true nature. As such it was where much of the necessary research that was to dangerous to perform near a large population center was put to trial.

With such an important place in the organizations hierarchy it was no surprise it was one of the most closely guarded and populated facilities outside of the regional head-quarters, and yet all that protection had done nothing. Five minutes ago security had been alerted to an individual checking in as an engineer at the Eastern workstation. At the time the credentials had checked out as a new employee but after three minutes and thirty seconds the computer came back claiming they had suddenly expired. It had been a simple matter to check and find they had never been issued by an official source, how it had worked in the first place would be a question for the future. For now the security net closed in like a vice around the spy, the quicker they caught them the better as the political fallout would be lessened.

“Left! Go left! The series #21 elevators!” the security operator yelled into Ricardos ear.

He and his six man group spun around the hall, his rifle up and ready to fire. Ahead of them, twenty meters away lay the body of a scientist face down in his own blood. Another ten meters and a man in black overalls with a fabric mechanics cap was swiping the card he had no doubt pulled of the man through the elevators pad. The doors opened immediately and he stepped inside, turning around in time to lock eyes with Ricardo and for a moment the soldier thought he saw the insurgents eyes glow red. Not letting little details get the better of him though he squeezed off a half-dozen rounds, unfortunately the doors were already closing and their heavy plating was capable of deflecting even spiritually enhanced bullets. Regardless their prey had made a fatal mistake, after all he was playing on their home turf.

Ricardo tapped the mic button on his ear-set, “Security, stop elevator #21-C, we've got him trapped.”

When the affirmative was given he made his way to the elevator. Once there he began ordering his men to retrieve items they would need to proceed into the shaft. Even once that was done he would assume they were going in shooting, you didn't break into a base like this unless you were ready to give up your life. He doubted this day was ending without someone getting shot, but he knew one thing for sure, it wasn't going to be him. Thoughts of finality were shattered however when security piped in, “He's gone through the floor! They've got a rope and buckle to lower themselves!”

Down in the shaft he had just pulled up the floor of the elevator without much effort, he had expected he would be caught anyway. Jabbing a holding spike into the metal side he held on to the rope and jumped over the edge, of course he could certainly have just dropped to the bottom of the shaft and proceeded up, but this would allow him to lower to the exact floor, time was of the essence. Just as he had cycled a good twenty feet down the hole the car above him began to move downward, clearly they intended to crush him. However as it began to fall with great speed he swung the rope inward and collecting reiatsu into his palm used his night-eyes to see through the darkness, '22', '21', '20'...'19'.

Swinging in his palm collided with the doors which crumpled with ease. Coming to a sliding halt on the ground he turned to watch the transport go hurtling past the floor, though the fact that it never crashed suggested they'd thrown the breaks in time. Pulling out his PDA he looked at the building schematics and walked quickly, though not running, through the halls as the sirens still wailed. From somewhere ahead he could hear yelling as another security crew closed in, but they were already too late. Moving to the door that was his end target he took the card he had pulled off the scientist and swiped it through the lock, unfortunately that did nothing. He began to look through the security codes on his PDA and enter them on the keypad when he picked up the 'Ding' of an elevator and turned to see the one next to that which he had proceeded down arrive. With a growl he pulled his knee back and one swift kick later the door exploded off its hinges and into the room.

Taking hold of a small cylinder that had been cloaked from sensors from underneath his clothing he twisted the device and through it down the hall, then proceeded into the room. A sharp whistle sounded out as the device activated and moments later the mechanical whir of a thousand dying machines filled the facility, the EMP bomb deactivating anything that wasn't spiritually shielded. And so, that was when the lights went out.

The temporary confusion bought him some time as he moved to the large container that was the only object in the room aside from now dead computer monitors. Whatever powered the container itself though was made to never fail as it still glowed with blue running lights and a series of digital displays on its front listed “Defenses: ON” in large green print. Looking it over once he reached out and grabbed a massive metal lever that was likely meant to be opened with a crane of some sort, not by hand. Instantly a dozen arcs of electrified reiatsu pulsed from the machine and ripped through his body, but they didn't even push him back. Gritting through the momentary discomfort he pulled down hard on the lock and it gave an ominous series of penetrating 'clunk' sounds as multiple gear locks were disengaged. Taking the door in hand he pulled it all the way open so that it was perpendicular with the wall to which the container was against, and that was where he stayed.

Ricardo cursed as he cycled through his vision modes until he settled on night-vision, never comfortable with the heat spectrum. A second squad had joined from the other direction as they closed in on the broken-down door. They had assumed the target was going for one of the special armor programs being constructed in this location though now their movements seemed to suggest otherwise. Whatever the case might be though they were clearly up against a spirit, or someone who was spiritually enhanced at this point, that meant orders were officially shoot on sight now. They had him cornered on the spirit research wing now and it was confirmed there was no way out other than through them, the facility being constructed just in case of an outbreak.

Moving to the opened door first he yelled out, “You're surrounded. Come out peacefully now and we won't have to harm you!”, it was a lie but it was worth a try.

Naturally nobody called back and so signaling several of his men to cover him they began to proceed inside. Covering left and right their heads were on swivels as they searched the room. Proceeding toward the center of the room he saw that the container in the middle was open, he didn't know there was supposed to be anything inside and kept moving closer to see if the man had perhaps taken shelter in or around it. As he got within two meters he noticed a number of claw marks inside the crate and began to get a very apprehensive feeling. He went for his comm to request the status of the rooms occupancy when he felt something soft clasp around his neck.

One of the other men in the room called out with his gun pointed at the door. Having the heat scanner turned on it had finally focused in on the defused pattern taking shelter behind the door, pointing to it several of them moved in with guns aimed. It was at this point they realized that that Captain Ricardo was nowhere to be found. They were still focused on the door when a firm 'thud' sounded out and several of them flipped around, it took them a moment to distinguish the human shape of their captain. The closest man rushed to his side while one of the men by the door moved forward to pull the door aside, apparently spurred forward by a moments adrenaline.

Both men let out piercing screams at the same time as Captain Ricardo leapt from his position to tackle the other man. Up close one could see that the majority of his face had simply been removed and yet the body continued to move, clearly thinking their officer was in shock with pain they tried to call out to him. However a moment later what was left of the mans mouth had clasped itself down around the security patrols jugular and bit down until it exploded in a fountain of blood. Split between the two moments of action several others witnessed as the man closest the door was pulled into the air and then came careening to the floor a split-second later with a missing arm. He let out a series of screams momentarily but they were quickly silenced as if all at once he stopped feeling pain.

The men inside tried to track the ceiling without any luck but those waiting at the door could see clearly. They began calling security for a lock down meanwhile several of them located a bookshelf in a nearby room and pulled it into the hall, with five of them it was not difficult to push it up against the doorway to block it. As they backed away they could still here gunshots and screams going on inside until eventually all was silence. Knowing there was nothing more to do they turned to move down the hall and get out before the lockdown was initiated, the one furthest back instantly smacked into a solid surface and fell to the ground.

A slow methodical clicking filled the hall as he looked up at the five meter tall figure standing hunched over before them. Its spindly form belied its strength, though its massive clawed hands and whip like tail did not. A single solid white plate made up its face with a dozen hollow holes for eyes designating the top with two massive horns protruding from the head swept back in a devilish fashion. It stood before them for a moment, the clicking coming from behind its mask, then the solid white broke open into four quadrants to expose thousands of sharp teeth behind as it exuded a massive roar. The sound was quickly silenced as it clasped its mouth around the first soldiers head it could reach and then it stole off down the halls just as they began to fire, the first of many victims it would have this day.

------------

Governor leaned against a makeshift table as he reviewed the Central-Research Base #7's interior. Surrounding him were the leaders of each respective division for this mission. He had been recounting everything they knew up until this moment, it wasn't everything but it was enough. Plus the current situation didn't allow for much interpretation, the only thing they didn't know was who had started this, but the end result was the same. As he continued to explain his eyes turned toward Grushevkavinski, from the outside the city looked like a ghost town now, only a few smoky fires that had started in a few placed showcased the danger within. The town was completely cordoned off now and anybody who came toward the barrier would be shot, regardless of signs of “infection” or not. Power and communications had of course been cut off, though it seemed much of it had gone down before they even arrived.

“So, that's what we know for now.” He looked to each of them, “As you can see the HALO Storm is currently on a mission across the globe, similarly Commander Gospel and the President are not immediately available. That means I'll be in charge of this operation, but more importantly it means I'm relying on each on you to do the best possible job you can here. There's no room for mistakes, if we fail and this gets out there may well be no stopping it.”

After punctuating the last line he drew his hand across the digital screen laying on the table and opened a document. When he did so a diagram of the hollow they knew was at fault here appeared, laid out like a science-class biology textbook.

“As I mentioned we are uncertain of the degree to which the facility staff enhanced its abilities. Thus until we know more you are all to assume that contact means death. It can control anyone it bites, or claws, and anyone thereof bitten by one of its victims. If a member of your squad is attacked by the hollow or by its...offspring, lets say, then they are to be immediately put down if they cannot be captured safely. Similarly if you can capture any of the staff alive then you are to do so but it is assumed and accepted we will incur large losses here. Saving a few people here won't make a difference if we don't stop this now, so you have a free-trigger prerogative.”

Bringing the site schematics back up he began instructing, “Our first job is to clear out the city. We've already dropped gas on it several times and expect at least sixty-percent of the civilians to be impaired. Your teams will be supplied with similar gas bombs in grenade form before insertion. This gas does not kill and we would prefer to keep civilian casualties to a minimum, still as stated even then if it can't be done safely then you can open fire no questions asked. Once the city is taken the dangers of this leaking are drastically lessened and we can then focus on retaking the facility.”

“We'll go into more detail at that point, for now lets focus on the town. Shamus I'll be controlling overall troop movement but I'm expecting you to use your eyes. You'll be ground-side and have a better view of whats going on, so if something I say sounds like a bad call or you see a better one I want you to speak up. I won't be moving armor in at this time though if things take a turn for the worse and safely procuring the site becomes a no-go I will. Marissa you'll be taking the stealth operatives under your command and moving to the three entrances to ensure nothing else leaves the facility until we can put proper cover on each.”

Leaning over the table Reginald held his hands together and waggled his fingers, something he did while thinking, “If it's human targets you have authorization to neutralize, however should any group run into the hollow you are to pull back and call its location into me, we will then begin an armor initiative against it. Once the city is reclaimed if we've not located it we'll reconvene on how it will be handled in close quarters.”

He pushed up off the table and nodded his head several times before looking back out over the city. A half dozen HK2's were circling the once peaceful village, “That's it, if you've any questions voice them now, then move out.”

[kensei]

Vance didn’t like where this was going. Being summoned out into the middle of nowhere, to some secret research facility even he knew nothing about. And on top of that it was conducting some sort of experiment to increase the strength of hollows.. Humanities enemies. Just what the hell where the higher ups thinking in allowing such a disastrous scenario play out? The whole thing screamed of some bad horror zombie flick. It was resident evil Reality this time, and it was going to be a huge pain in his ass.

To top everything off, they where going in with the second rate teams. Marissa was no Gospel, and these mercs they had just brought in where nothing compared to a HALO storm unit. And now they where facing what could be the worst opponent in recent history. They had no armor and they didn’t have any experienced teams, it was all going down the shitter at this point. He had heard enough, the whole plan was half-assed at best and people where going to die.

Vance raised his hand before looking at “the Governor” as he said. “This whole situation reeks of the Tokyo incident two months back. Command has to see the trend here, if we don't start beefing up security we are going to see more casualties as we dive further into this world and technology. We have to better prepared and equipped.” He said with a slight laugh. Most would see it as way out of line, but he knew that if people didn’t call the higher ups on there bullshit this kind of thing would keep happening. All these bastards are to damn confident! They don’t see how new we are to the game. And they just think they can push everything! Well guess what this is what you guys get, your pride knocked down a few steps. He thought as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. They where about to go into the pits of hell, and he would be damned if he died without a smoke first.

“The way I see it, is that if we do get to close quarters then we had better have a few Mag-Rail rifles. That is the only guarantee kill weapon we have if we assume it’s as strong as the toughest Hollows and Shingamis we have faced; which it controlling such a huge number of people suggests it is; then we need those to end it.” Vance took a long drag as he stared down Governor, he was sick of people dieing because command wasn’t willing to send out the big guns. If everyone had the Mk2 suits like the commanders and access to there best weaponry then these situations would be far easier to contain. Damn it.. He dropped his cig before stomping it out as he checked his rifle one more time. “That’s all I have to add."

[schitzo7830]

Shamus had been called in about a half hour before "The Govenor" had got there. He was waiting inside the tent the NWO had set up just outside the Russian town. Shamus had spent the time reviewing the mission details. There werent many but he had at least gotten a map of the town and the interior of the base they would be retaking. The layouts where similiar to other facilities he had been in and he took note of a few traps and corridors he could use to his advantage. There ws three entrances into the facility and his favored entrance was the one inside and under the town hall. His plan was as the rest of the troops made there way into the city THE CREW would be dropped off into the middle off the city. Shamus planned to mark two buildings on ground level with C4 and on exfil he ould detonate them, sealing off any chasing hollows. After setting the bombs he would take backstreets down and around main street untill making his way to the town hall. A quick check for survivors and then he would open the basement and take the train into the facility.

Shamus listened to the plan and details and after taking a swig from his flask he stood up and holstered the Kimber Eclipse 16 round hand gun that was sitting in front of him. It was his favorite weapon and he not only had multiple clips for the gun he had modified it for a burst fire mechanism. Looking around he listened to the stealth Operative voice his opinion.

“The way I see it, is that if we do get to close quarters then we had better have a few Mag-Rail rifles. That is the only guarantee kill weapon we have if we assume it’s as strong as the toughest Hollows and Shingamis we have faced; which it controlling such a huge number of people suggests it is; then we need those to end it.”

Shamus began to put on the vest and other chest plating of his armor, locking it in place and suiting up. He looked at the govenor then back to Vance.

"Listen here, if it comes close quaters let us handle it. We will get it outside and force it into the open to where we can hit it with the artillery. The Crew will be able to handle it, but not kill it. Which is why" Shamus paused and turned back to Reginald. "I want a HKH in the air waiting for my teams evacuation. Also if i can get sniper support uintil we get into the town hall building, it would make me a bit less nervous about something biting me in the ass."

Shamus put on his his helmet and started up his Mk.2 systems. His armor instantly began to lock and reitsu flowed into the gear. His powers ran off reitsu so he knew how to sense it, though the spirit recognition software helped. Shamus waited for his reply and regardless of what was said proceeded outside and as he made his way to the transport helicopter he noticed the crew was already suited up and inside. The crew was there with te exception of Danny who would be riding in the same helicopter as Vance. Danny was going to regroup with the Crew after the town was retaken.

As Shamus entered the aircraft he nodded at his crew. He knew each of them well and would give his life for each of them. Instantly JT started talking to him, the man didnt shut up.

" "Yo' Jedi, you think there like the zombies in the movies? Will it have to be a headshot to kill them or? JT trailed off as Shamus handed him a picture of one of the 'zombified' hollow victims. It sure resembled a zombie, face missing and its stomach haveing a large gash,the scientists white coat was smeared red. "Man this shit is gonna be crazy!" JT's usuall obnoxiousness kicking through. Bargo sat opposite of Shamus and Danny's sister Olly sat next to him. Olly was arguing with JT about the difference between a hollow and a zombie and Bargo was starring off at Grushevkavinski. Shamus noticed that look from before. Ever since Bargo had taken a a large wound from a hollow whenever they went off to fight the creatures he got this look in his eyes. He knew Bargo anted to go back to being a normal mercenary but wouldnt abandon his family, and Bargo knew the pay was too good for Shamus to walk away from even if he could. Everyone knew the NWO's policy on desertion.

The ride over Shamus tapped into his mic and opened up communications for both Govenor and the stealth ops unit, who Danny was with, and then he began to cordinate. With such a strong target Shamus knew losing someone was a possibility but he had no idea what was in store.

[Mr. Butterfly]

Marisa stood in her place nervously. Not only had she been called into duty under emergency protocol situations, but they were dealing with a high-priority target. Marisa took into account on how serious this was - a scientifically enhanced Hollow that has the potential to have an exponential amount of minions at its disposal. Marisa also felt uncomfortable with the free-trigger issue. Killing Hollows was one thing, but possible innocents? I guess it was all in the mindset... just had to remember that if they were taken over by the Hollow, they were no longer innocent. However, her biggest concern was being in charge of the stealth ops for this mission. She was accustomed to Gospel's direction, not giving direction. Well, thats what those tactical operation classes and simulations were for, even if she didn't make record breaking grades on them.

Marisa was taken back by Vance's remarks. What a hothead! He needed to learn to control himself... if only Gospel had heard about it...although, knowing Gospel, they were mostly likely bugged and under 24/7 observation. On top of his rudeness, Vance then proceeded to smoke. She had already decided that this guy was going to give her trouble.

"Well, Vance," She started, a bit of a reprimand in her voice, "If we do our jobs the way they should be done, we can reduce our close-range encounters as far as the town goes. Our job isn't to deal with the Hollow, and if we are forced to engage it, I would prefer it if you toned down the attitude and used your training." As she finished her sentence, she nodded in Shamus' direction, as he was right in saying that the Hollow threat was something he was better equipped to deal with, and she grabbed her visor from her side and began to re-integrate it into her suit.

Marisa sighed, glad to let off a bit of steam built up from the pressure of the situation, and then turned her attention back to her suit. Her visor displayed a quick diagnostics of her suit, showing that all systems were green. She then looked in Reginald's direction.

"Sir, what kind of opposition can we expect from the...offspring, I believe you termed them?" Marisa was curious as to the capabilities of her foe, as that would help her decide on the best course of action to take to minimize casualties on both sides if it was at all possible.

After receiving her answer, Marisa pulled up her available resources on a PDA-style function on her visor. Her and Vance accounted for 2 of the 4 available Stealth Operatives, and a squad of 7 Shades was available to her. She assigned Vance 2 of the Shades, sent the 2 Stealth Ops to the right entrance alongside 2 Shades, and Marisa took charge of the remaining 3 Shades. She sent the squad assignments to everyone under her, and made her way to her transport copter to see her squad.

[GoldenKitten]

Moving his foot backward Reginald maneuvered a nearby ammo crate beneath him. He took a seat upon it as he listened to the people voice their opinions, fishing in his pocket all the while. As Vance drolled on Reginald didn't say a word and instead retrieved a cigar which he made a show of cutting, and lighting. The man didn't seem to be paying a great deal of attention but anyone aware of how he was knew he was something of a laid back Richard, that was to say just because he didn't show it didn't mean he wasn't hearing, and seeing, everything. He heard them all out, and let the others have their go at Vance first before he cocked his head and drummed a knuckle on the table while looking to the hothead.

“Your suggestion of magrails is a poorly placed one, only someone of Commander Derricks size could easily cart one about like a regular weapon. One thing we do know is that the Hollow is fast, so lugging around weapons of that size would only serve to make you fodder, additionally they are not built for close-range combat. Naturally once the city is taken we will use them to hold the entrances though. As for the rest...” he took a deep inhalation before blowing the smoke low to the ground so it didn't get in the others way, “It reeks of defeatism. We aren't sitting on our asses here, every hour of every day we are developing countermeasures you've never even dreamed of... but it takes time to pull something from scratch. The NWO is the most advanced and quickly growing firm in the world, if we wind up failing, then victory was simply never an option.”

He was manipulating the map the whole time he spoke, not really considering Vance. However before concluding he met his eyes and as if he was reading his mind added, “You're insinuating that I'm not doing everything possible to help you. It's true I have many weapons and defenses at my disposal that I am not using, but I have reasons, and they are not foolish. For instance we have no idea what the enemies close-range capabilities are, it could be suicide sending armor into those close quarters with nowhere to move. Whereas a foot squad can retreat from most situations with their greater mobility. Once we've felt the situation out I may very well send them in.” He took another drag, “That's why I'm the one making the plan.”

Pulling the cigar away he pointed it at him, “It's best not to waggle thy tongue when the brain to which it is connected knows not how to use it, or what to say.”

Without missing a beat his temperament changed and he looked to Shamus and Marissa. Leaving Vance to fume or do whatever it is he wanted to do, he really couldn't care less.

“We don't have many from the Stealth Division with us so I can't spare one of them as a sniper, they need to secure the entrances quickly. Back-up is organizing as we speak, I'll put in a call for such but let's not bet on it being here for at least 20. The HK2 will of course be here, we'll have several on-scene the whole time. More importantly I need to speak with you about your plan, but we can do that over the radio, go get your people together.”

Tapping the hologram with the clean end of his cigar the picture changed back to that of the few infected humans they had already put together, “I cannot say Marissa. Those we've run into up to this point were severely damaged when they were attacked and infected. Thus their abilities would have been hampered even before, so we can't say what someone who received light to moderate damage would be capable of. Still, whether a natural part of its ability or simply because it is controlling so many at one time all of them up till now have been sluggish both to respond and to move. But don't take that as a guarantee, what we know amounts to nothing at this point.”

When they were finished everyone disappeared from the table leaving him alone. Of course there were communications officers nearby and more than a few combat operatives just playing guard duty, but it was hardly secure. Still Reginald wasn't particularly concerned, he was up here giving orders because that was what he was best at, not because he couldn't fight if it came to it. He walked to the steep bank that dropped down into a set of trees before it looked out over the village and spoke into his comm.

“What I wanted to ask Shamus was why you wanted to take the entrance under the town hall. The one inside the “Vadeskis Home”, and the other beneath the mechanics are both easier to reach, similarly it is much more likely that a large number of possessed humans could be waiting in such a large structure. The town hall will of course allow your team more cover but that doesn't do you much good if there are a hundred people waiting to overrun you in there. You know your team best and so I'm giving you free reign on this choice, but are you sure it's best?”

Down below several squads of combat operatives encircled the town, preparing to make their way down each street, nine in total. So far they had only seen two infected humans walking around down there, but heat sensing had confirmed there were more in almost every structure. Whether this meant non-possessed had barricaded themselves in or the hollow was attempting to launch a surprise attack was an uncertainty. However the fact that calls to every phone in the town went unanswered went a long way toward suggesting the latter. He gave one final look over the ghost town as he wrapped up any final lingering strings in the coming assault, and then he took firm grasp of his comm.

“Very well then. This is the Governor, I am ordering the retaking of Grushevkavinski, execute.”

[kensei]

His blood was boiling.. Here where these idiotic buffoons who had no idea about what they where talking about. Keep his attitude in check? Rely on his training? WHAT WAS HIS TRAINING GOING TO DO AGAINST A FUCKING BEHEMOTH!?! There was nothing in the NWO guide book for dealing with what amounted to a god compared to most members! Then there was the pathetic excuse for an Elite combat team “The Crew’ really? “The crew”? That was the best they could come up with for themselves? And these guys where going to take care of the hollow that defeated NWO security? Oh yeah, why did he not have confidence in that? Now Reginald may have had a point, but that tongue thing completely destroyed any he may have had and the whole damn chain of command could kiss his ass at that point!

He slammed his hand onto his knee before talking just louder then normal, but not enough to be considered a yell. “All I was saying!” He said before shooting Marisa, and then everyone else a quick glare as he continued. “Is that the way it sounds is that the Stealth squads are going to be making sure that nothing comes out of the facility while the combat squads take care of the town. Stealth ops, and Shades are not equipped to deal with a high caliber target and if one such enemy showed up it would be more rounds the Order had to use on its own. The Stealth Squads are not going to be running every which way but lose, and so with the small teams we have it would make sense to load one team member with a Mag-Rail rifle incase things went south. It would also allow the Stealth ops to provide covering fire to any combat units that are faced against an opponent they are not equipped to handle. Is that not the whole point of the Stealth ops? But hey, if you want to send us in ill-equipped for the worst possible situation then you can deal with the consequences.”

Not even a glance.. No recognition of any kind to anything he had said.. So that’s how it was eh? The Govoner was just going to let them all go off and die? Oh well, the blood was on his hands, if he didn’t want to listen to logic the so be it. He had tried to help the Organization, he poured his life into it, and this was what he got in return from the higher ups? All the projects he had been a part of and he didn’t even get two minutes of attention?! How many deadlines would not have been made if not for him? How many lives would have been lost without his contributions to the NWO?! TO DAMN MANY TO COUNT!

Vance stood up violently, knocking his chair back a few inches before he put on his helmet and said. “I have a squad to prepare. If the plan changes alert me via com.” He doubted anyone gave a shit he was going, but hell, they where going to regret not listening to him before the day was done without a doubt. “Spirit scanner on, top right corner, one/fourth HUD size.” He said as his spirit scanner came to life, distorting part of the Dark Green light his mask put off to the outside world. “Spirit radar, bottom left corner, one/tenth HUD size.” His spirit radar came to life as he checked it out of the corner of his eye. When he got on the ground he would most likely turn one or both of them off, but the built in display was defiantly helpful when going into a hot spot. Vance grabbed his custom made, all riatsu sniper rifle off the ground, leaning it against his right shoulder before walking over to a group of Shades. “Ry, Keisuke, gear up your with me.” Both men seemed to sigh as they suited up, a remark Vance often got when he told someone they where teammates, he didn’t exactly have a good reputation with other members.. But hey, he got results and that’s what command wanted so fuck these assholes.

[schitzo7830]

Shamus listened to Reginalds words and waited for himt o finish as Reginald offered information of two other entrances Shamus had already reviewed. He knew what he wanted to do and like always there was a reason for him wanting to take the town hall over and a reason for why he didnt want to get dropped off so close to the town hall.

"Like i said sir, my team will be taking Town hall. I dont plan on infiltrating the base and going head first into a shit storm against enemies me and my mates have never fought before. My initial thought was to take the Vadeski house but i realized a four man team didnt have much room to operate in such a confined space." Shamus dindt want his men to be the only ones taking a chance of getting bit, and he didnt want back up taking a hour to get there either.

" When back up arrives i expect them in there. Thirty to fourty soldiers are gonna be slowed down in such a small space especially if a bunch of the possesed humans start flowing out. The same goes for under the mechanics, though if we get another operative you should probably direct him that way." Shamus finished and checked his rifle over. Only three 30 round mags for his rifle and 5 magazines for his pistol. Two hand grenades and a combat knife, with a few throwing knifes was all he hand. He hoped it was enough.

He was only two minutes from the landing zone, his eyes started surveying the area. A rural neighborhood about six blocks from checkpoint Alpha. The area looked clear, but that just didnt add up. Tons of residents all taken over for the most part and not a single head in the steets. Shamus cocked his rifle and trained his sgiths straight ahead as they touched down.

Exiting the helicopter his team started moving fast, a full sprint down the street. Two blcoks and they would take a left. A block passed and their full hussle dindt slow untill JT, who was ahead of the group fallowed by Olly then Shamus then Bargo bringing up the rear came to a sudden halt. The rest of them did the same. Shit, contact. Shamus couldnt help but notice JT hesitate for a second before putting a round from his shotgun into the head of a seven year old girl. Her throat was already missing and she was sluggishly making her way towards him when the blast ripped the top of her head literally off and she fell dead. Thats when shit got crazy. Bargo started unloading a few dozen rounds out of his light machine gun, treating the gun like it weighed nothing he swung it around to hi right mowing down a few more possesed that had exited out of the building to his side. Taking a quick survey around him he noticed there were dozens of these dead humans stuttering towards them from all directions. Most of them were thirty or fourty feet away but they had come out of nowhere. Shamus lifted a hand from his rifle and sent a car flying towards a small group of them smashing there bones under the vehicles weight.

"Jedi we need to get out of here now!" Jt yelled at him as he took down a office clerk that was closest to him.

""Im bloody thinking damn it!" Shamus thought for a moment then spoke up "There slow, we got speed, keep moving towards the objective. JT take point, Olly behind me and Bargo take up the rear. Everyone move your ass!"

As Shamus began moving down the street he noticed the helicopter above start to spin out of control and then smash into a building. One of the AT helicopter pilots, the one that dropped the crew off, had been bitten when one of the possed snuck aboard when they exited. The flamed ripped out the side of the building and some small rubble began to fall. Without thinking Shamus used his telepathy to stop a big piece from hitting Olly.

"Display HUD camera, visor screen, Show command." Shamus waited till the screen showed on his visor, signaling that command and the govenor could see what he was seeing. Then clicked on his mic, never slowling pace as JT cleared the way ahead of them as they ran. Three blocks.

"Govenor, Tell me your getting this. An ATH just went down, whats going on witht he other troops? Is there any way i can get a small squad to move onto the main street before i get there. I need some of these things off my ass. Shamus paused as JT yelled for a reload, Shamus then took point, raising his rifle and dropping two of these undead like creatures just feet ahead of them. There were many coming out of buildings and side streets but straight ahead of them was safe tillt he reached the four way intersection that met up with the main street. There was a large hoarde, 40 or fifty possesed were making there way towards The crew. Way to many to handle.

Speaking to both his team and Govenor " We are holding here till we can thin out the horde straight ahead and the group behind us. We got about three minutes before they get to hard to handle. I need a new route to the Town hall before then Govenor."

Bargo dropped to his knee and started unloading behind them covering off the rear. Olly stood next to Bargo holding her knifes out, ready for a fight if any got close. Jt and Shamus moved upwards and started taking out the few further from the horde but closer to them. If they didnt get any way out soon, they would be in some serious shit. Shamus just hoped Danny was having it easier then he was.

[Mr. Butterfly]

Marisa's steps took her closer and closer to the transport copter, where she clambered in, and made sure the pilot knew they were heading to Theta zone - the mechanic's home. She took her seat next to a middle aged man, who gave her a look of surprise. Clearly, he was having major doubts over someone of her age being in command. Marisa settled in comfortably, slowly checking her suit systems, while simultaneously checking her weapons. Of course, she carried her custom pistol with her, and secured it into its leg holster. She checked her armor for her knives, and counted to be sure that all 8 were in the emergency positions as needed. The gas grenades she had were equipped on her belt, as well as some of the other tricks she had with her.

En route, she commed Vance. "Hey hotshot, try not to get anybody killed, alright? Secure the location and if the big beastie does show its head, let our big beasties handle it." She cut off her comm without waiting for a reply, then switched to over chat for her Stealth forces. "If anything comes up or if something suspicious goes on, let it loose on the comm. Otherwise, maintain silence until you've reached your destinations." Not waiting for a reply, she surveyed her chosen area as the copter approached. Instead of a direct drop off onto location - an obviously bad choice, given the copter's tendency to make noise - they were being dropped off close to the perimeter, about 7 blocks from the target. Marisa spotted a target or two that had already emerged, but was otherwise unimpressed. She hoped that the hostile forces remained at this level. "Suits on." Marisa's words echoed as the Shades and herself activated their stealth fields.

The copter touched down and the unit got out. Marisa, preferring to keep the silence, gave the woman a motion, who then leveled her scoped rifle. two reiatsu rounds whistled at two targets, and two targets went down. Marisa sighed, and they started down the trek to the house at a fast pace. Progress was eerily well. Marisa surveyed the street, and only a husk or two was apparent - not at all what should have been there. Marisa made sure they remained efficient with their ammunition - she shot a slug into one of the zombies, and another was dispatched by a Shade. Becoming unnerved with the lack of adversaries, Marisa commed into the general channel, speaking to Reginald but also publicly.

"This is Marisa... somethings not right. We are three blocks away from target, and yet we've hardly engaged any resistance. My scanner isn't even picking up much more than what I've seen. Any way I can get a confirmation on my situation?"

[GoldenKitten]

Reginald sat about, turning his little clearing into a chimney as he puffed away in silence. It took roughly two minutes for the first reports to start coming in, those heading into the core city received resistance immediately, while those on the outside did not. This would of course been a sensible progression of the battle had heat imagining not suggested differently. Still they had gone in knowing full-well this could be a trap and were likely checking and double-checking themselves, if he piped up to much he came across as overbearing which was a bad way to keep having people listen to you. Instead he allowed the event to progress naturally and instead waited for the first point in which a squad needed direct intervention, that was where his technical skills came to the fore.

This came from Shamus and as he viewed the situation he found exactly what he had expected. This was precisely why he had not wanted the Crew to move on ahead, it offered little in strategic ability if they got themselves cornered...and that hadn't taken long. Moreover he was infuriated that the HK2 had apparently landed at some point, likely while he had been addressing the meeting. Richard had long since placed rules about not ever landing those things (they didn't need to) but he had issued a specific ban on even thinking about it during this mission. Whichever pilot it was Reginald certainly wasn't taking the blame, the pilot could have his own the stupidity pulled out of his life-insurance plan.

Returning to the more imminent issue he looked the map over several times while speaking like a mother disappointed in her children into the radio, “This is why I say things Shamus, this is why I say things....”, other combat squads were engaged and none were going to be that far up the road in ten minutes, much-less three, he tapped his fingers on the table for a moment before speaking, “Alright. Back off from the main road, this is coming out of your paychecks for the record.”

Without listening to the response he continued relaying orders into the comm though it was apparently no longer for Shamus, “Anne, 35'A by 21'D, allies at 22'D, bunch'em up.”

There was no sound for the next ten seconds though it was doubtful Shamus could recognize this amidst all the gunfire and action going around near him. However, a split second later a good tenth of the main road turned into a fire-storm as an uncountable number of shells impacted in a row. Possessed that had been trying to force their way in to the tiny alley were blown to the side in an almost comical fashion before being absorbed by the flames. When they cleared only the few humans who had been deep into the alley before the blast remained in the Crews way.

On the main street none remained in the area, or what did remain were shredded into a thousand pieces and scattered everywhere. There was a neat little blackened strip fit perfectly down the now cratered asphalt yet there was no damage to any of the buildings, not even concussive or shrapnel damage. The efficiency and accuracy was way beyond human standards, but then in the NWO that wasn't so abnormal when you thought about it. However almost as soon as the road cleared the activity seemed to attract others as a man came stumbling out of one of the houses right alongside the burned-out attack route.

“I'd move out now Shamus...” Reginald added bluntly.

By this point he was only paying them a modicum of attention though as he expected them to do their job, instead he was now focusing on Marissa who had contacted him. As she spoke he shook his head, he had already showed them this data in the briefing, why did he need to remind them? What the hell was the point of getting everyone together and showing them all the information they had if they were forgetting it four minutes later? Sometimes he wondered why Richard didn't just strap mind-controlling helmets on all of them so the few smart ones like himself could give orders without issue. Then he remembered what they were currently fighting and had an “Oh...” moment.

Bringing up the particular area she was in which was being updated constantly by an HK2 he spoke up, “Not at all Marissa, we're still picking up multiple heat pockets in the buildings around you. Either your stealth fields are fooling them for a time, or they're waiting till you are further in and can't retreat. Safer to bet on the latter.”

Almost as soon as he spoke he heard breaking glass over the radio. Back on Marissas side a possessed human had just come barreling through a nearby window and just barely missed taking one of the Shades to the ground. It was promptly shot but as soon as this was done the doors on three houses around them exploded open and hordes of humans in different states of physical ability came charging at them. This seemed to verify their belief that the hollow could assert different levels of control since the much thicker broods around Shamus were moving slower, as if they were more difficult to control en-masse.

Back on his stump Reginald listened to the comm chatter and briefly considered maybe it was better if he just stopped saying stuff...even if it was true. As he watched the little dots on the map a young voice spoke over his personal line, “I...I kind of noticed none of them really seem to be trying to save any of the possessed.”

Reginald let out a slight guffaw before simply adding, “Yah, yah I noticed that too. For a better world my booty apparently.”

[kensei]

Vance used whatever self restrain he had in his body not to start yelling over the com as Marisa commented on his ability to fight and lead. He who was the second most senior stealth operative here! He had, had his training; he wasn’t some freaking newbie who was going to get em all killed! He looked over to Danny and raised his hand before saying. “Can you believe the crap I have to deal with here?” Danny was the only person in the A-T that wasn’t part of his squad. “Look when we get on the ground you listen to exactly what I say, and do what I tell you. One wrong move and you will end up just like the infected, and I will not hesitate to put a bullet in your skull if you can’t prevent that. That said, you will be on the rear, I’ll take point and the shades will be in the middle. Got that boys?” “Yes Sir.” The Shades sounded off.

Vance checked his guns one last time before raising his scope and looking at the building, using the spirit scanner on his rifle’s scope. The scope mounted spirit scanner was more sensitive and precise then the smaller version built into his helmet. “Alright, looks like things could get hairy. If we assume that only two thirds of the infected register on the radar then this is going to be a hell of a fight.. We need to be careful, stay away from any route that doesn’t have an exit. The thermal map was right.. They really are everywhere. Alright, it’s just like we where told, we will make our way towards the base, expect heavy resistance.”

As the chopper landed the group made there way out of towards there objective. Scanning the houses with his helmets spirit scanner Vance threw his hand up, signaling the group to stop has he threw his sniper over his shoulder and pulled out his modified 45.caliber pistol. “Com : Pull out whatever close range weapons you have, Ry, pull out your gas grenades and give me one. Then I want you to go to the other side of the house and throw one in, I’ll throw one in on the other side, we want minimal casualties. After forty seconds I’ll break down the door, me and Keisuke will go in and detain any still standing. Danny you will stay outside and cover us, lets go people. Its either this or an ambush if we go further.” They neared the door, the hoard obviously expected to ambush them like the other squads as they didn’t jump out as soon as they neared. “Com to command: Renigald, can you order an Hk2 over us incase others come out and we have more on our hands then we can deal with?” He said before kicking down the door.

Ry threw Vance one of his gas cans before walking to the other side of the house. “Ready Vance.” “Alright, on three. 1, 2,3!’ Both tossed a grenade threw a window before high tailing it back to the center of the street. The seconds passed like hours as the gas filled the house, pouring out threw the windows. “I hope there are no leaks in your suits..” Vance said before walking towards the door. “Alright, lets go.” He said as the forty seconds finished. His foot slammed into the door, kicking it wide open as he walked in, scanning the room as Keisuke came up behind him, scanning the house. “Clear.” He called when one ran at them from the other room. Paw Vance shot off a round in its head, dropping it to the floor. The continued threw the room, dropping only four more before coming out of the house. “Activate com, command: Renigald, this is Vance. Gas grenades worked as planned, only five of the infected where up after forty seconds. However I doubt the next few houses will be so easy so keep that chopper coming please.” “Alright guys, form up. It might not be the quickest way but we don’t need any casualties today, so lets hit the next house. There are about fifteen houses between us and our target. Seven of those seem too be packed full with the infected, the others have a few but we should conserve our grenades for the big ones. Drop them without killing them if you can, but let’s make sure we don’t die. Next one is a small house so lets go.”

“Alright, bullets only here..” He said as he checked his pistols ammo, five shots left. “Alright, lets peer in threw the windows, smash them out and start blasting.” He said as they circled the building and walked forward. They all smashed threw the windows at the exact same moment and opened fire with there side arms, as there conventional snipers would do little for this task. The HK2 chopper would be there soon, if it wasn’t there already as they started dropping the smaller hoard left and right. It wasn’t the ideal situation, but it was better then going into a house filled with five hundred and no grenades versus a forty or so. He ejected his magazine and loaded a new one before crawling threw the window. The den seemed to be clear, and he activated his com before saying. “Danny and Keisuke inside, Ry cover us.” He said as he scanned the room once again. “Spirit scanner says there are fifteen left.” He said before firing five rounds threw a closet door on the far side of the room. “Thirteen.” He reloaded before pulling out his spirit blade from the holster on his right arm with his left hand as he gripped his pistol with his right. Moving into the next room, five where in here. “Keisuke.” He said as he opened the door and moved in, firing at two of them, but before he could move to take out the next ones he was jumped by one. “Shit! Tazer!” He yelled as his Spirit Tazer gun fired into the chest of the zombie; causing it to fall off before it could hurt him. He pulled up his gun, firing off two rounds into the skull of the tazed zombie before shooting two into two each for two of the three last zombies before his gun clicked with an empty mag. The third one rushed him, trying to slam into him but Vance side stepped before doing a quick turn, slamming his knife into the skull of the zombie before ejecting the mag. “Clear in here.” Danny sounded off next “Clear.” Then Keisuke “Clear.” He sighed before sheathing his blade, scanning the house once more before walking into the den. Damn it Vance! Be more careful! He reprimanded himself before walking outside. “Alright, lets keep going.”

[xero]

Bits and pieces of conversations came through the headset at random intervals, becoming more frequent as the helicopter approached the site of the 'emergency' situation in Grushevkavinski, and the few transported operatives each gave their respective weapons a final check, making certain they were in working condition for the next portion of their mission. Akera, confirming that his guns were all loaded, pulled on a helmet and let it attach to the rest of his suit, standing up as they came within range of the operation site and looking out of the open door to where he was headed. An explosion rang out as the man watched, an air strike that showed him things weren't going very well for the squad that called it in, and judging by the faint sounds of gunfire, things would be very interesting by the time he hit the ground.

The mission was rather simple, almost uncharacteristically so given the normal things they were required to do, and comprised almost entirely of 'meet with the nearest squads and assist them.' Akera sighed as they entered the city's airspace, sitting back down as the first operative left the chopper, and he began wishing that he had taken longer to return after his last mission, as he had been placed on the helicopter within an hour of the debriefing. The man snapped back to reality, however, as the helicopter reached his drop-off point, and as the ground below had several 'zombies' heading towards the squad he was to assist, the chopper couldn't exactly 'land' to let him off. The problem was solved, though, when Akera lept out of the aircraft and landed on a nearby roof, waving the chopper away after doing so.

Chatter was still coming in through his com-unit, having had it set to receive any and all transmission in the area coming from the NWO, and Akera quickly changed it to isolate only nearby sources, using it to narrow down where his objective was currently at. The man vaulted over the edge of the building, his levitation system slowing his fall to where he could land without disrupting his aim, and the nearest 'zombies' were dispatched before determining the direction he had to go in.

"Oi, are you guys still breathing?" he said calmly over the com-unit, directing it towards the group he was heading towards, and he picked up the pace while following the series of craters in the road. "Try to stay alive 'till I get there, if you don't mind....."

The magazine in his rifle was emptied quickly as he came closer to the target group, reloading quickly and noting he only had three full clips left before having to rely on his own energy to make the round, and he then came into visual range of the other combat operative he was being assigned to work with. 'What was his name..... Shamoo.....Santa..... Sam? Whatever, I'll pick it up after I get to him...it's something that starts with an S, I think....' Akera thought in a detached manner, a round from his rifle finding its mark just above an elderly man's right temple, and he stomped on a legless corpses head as it reached for his foot, a sickening crunch filling the air before he began running towards the squad.

The squad seemed to be holding up rather well, Akera now assuming that the bits and pieces coating the ground were because a mass amount of the puppets had shown up at one time in a massive group, and looked as if they could hold their own even without his help. Regardless, though, orders were orders and his were to help them in whatever ways they needed, and Akera slowed down to a walk as he came within shouting distance of the group.

"Change com-unit settings to allow out-going transmissions. Now then.... which one of you is in charge of this group?" he asked calmly, and after receiving the answer, his purpose for being there would be stated and he would follow the leader. "I've been sent to provide you with assistance until the end of this.....incident. Lead on, sir."