Cyber Wars Ch. 13: "Fallen Knights"

[Zephie]

Wraith starts to pick up a KI-550 and examine it, but then sets it down and frowns, instead taking out his own pistol and spinning it over his finger. "Call me old-fashioned, but all I need're my knives n' my Colts."

"But this..." he adds, picking up an Omni-Falcon. "Might be useful..."

[Wolf99x]

The members of Miller's FLAG team grabbed various combinations of TMPs, KI-42s, Laser Rifles, and KBP-360s, loading them and holstering them.

Miller turned to Wolf. "Are we all ready to go?"

"Just about," Wolf said. "As soon as Angel finishes strapping on as much high-powered weaponry as he can carry, we can go."

[Darth SS]

Angel as done surprisingly fast.

Two TMP's, and KBP-360.

That was it.

When confronted with odd stares, he raised an eyebrow and said, "What?"

He checked those two pistols, and tried sighting. Lovely.

"Okay...killin' time."

[Wolf99x]

"Excellent," Wolf said arming his KI-42. "Where should we go from here?" he asked Miller.

"We should head to the hangar, that's where the OTAVs are being stored. We can get them out if we clear the area."

"Wait a minute," Kaitlin asked "Don't the OTAVs have onboard AI? Couldn't they just fly themselves out?"

"That's where the problem lies." Miller said "Our AIs aren't the most secure individuals. The prototype OTAV AI, AKIRA, was subverted during Mastermind's raid on the testing facility las year. Fortunately, Wolf managed to destroy the AI. KAMO carried the latest protocols for security, but since Beowulf managed to subue him for a few minutes, we still aren't sure how well our AIs can stand up to Mastermind's conversion virii. So as soon as we crashed, Knight deactivated all OTAV AI cores. They're currently being held on the bridge inside the Lance, the most storage server ever developed. Has never been hacked."

"So then, we should head to the bridge, get the AI cores, upload them into the OTAVs, and have them go kick ass." Wolf said. "Beowulf and J2 can provide virus guard protocols for them so that they won't be taken over. The distraciont provided by the reactivated OTAVs will make our job that much easier."

"I like that plan; it would cover our escape, and we get Michael Knight off of the ship and out of harm's way at the same time." Kaitlin added.

Miller thought. "You know, that probably does make more sense than trying to give 12 people a crash course in piloting. Okay...I'll plot out the map for heading up to the bridge. First we have to go through this back door, and then through this hallway, followed by the mall..."

"Wait a minute," Wolf interuppted "You have a goddamn mall on this ship?"

"Well...people need to buy stuff..." Miller said.

"True..." Wolf said. "All right, we go through the mall. Maybe Angel can get a new shirt and coat while we're prowling and growling through it." he said with a smirk.

[MC43]

OOC: Good Lord I have missed a lot, haven't I? Of course... it doesn't help that I'm in the middle of no-man's land. I AM still alive, (I mean it this time!), and my postings should be coming more frequent now. (I mean that too. Honest!) Like... RIGHT NOW!!



It was a little monestary, but it was one of his religion, so it made translating a bit easier. He had just crossed into the Russin border and found the little dojo, consisting of all of it's 20 members, teachers included. He recieved directions on how to find the border, and cross it, into the most barren and feared land on the planet. It has been this way for years upon years, no one has dared enter it, unless forced to go their on their own. The teachers there scolded him because of his attaire. He decided to get out of his old uniform and into his training one from years back. If he wanted to start a new life, he would have to start from square one, as the comman saying went. Therefore, he had on a white Judo training suit, with white belt, the starting point of any Martial arts fighter. One thing hadn't changed, and that was the red bandana that he wore around his head. He had recieved it his first day of training from one of his teachers, vowing to never lose it, or lose wearing it, therefore, he had to be equiped. Also, there was a lack of shoes or gloves, socks were not even considered. They said that it was true that Zen could withstand nature, but even that wasteland could kill a God. Monk went anyway. He stayed there for two days, then snuck out during the third night, crossing into the barren depression that was Siberia.

[Wolf99x]

OOC: Normally I'd wait for SS to come up with a retort, but I need to get this thing moving again.

BIC: "All right," Wolf said to the assembled soldiers, "Let's go."

Miller's team took point as everyone exited the armory and locked it down. The hallway up ahead was clear, but Wolf could hear gunshots coming from the door at the end...the door leading into the onboard shopping area.

"I guess some of my buddies are still alive," Miller said.

"I guess so," Wolf responded. "Okay, I'll make the entry and proivde cover. Wraith, you go in right after I start firing. Angel, Kaitlin and Miller will follow him."

Wolf brought up his KI-42, opened the door, looked, and firied on the nearest Mastermind soldier he could see. The soldier was standing on an escalator, which he fell down as a 3 round burst caught him in the chest.

"Go, go, go!" Wolf shouted as he continued firing and sought cover behind a bench. Looking around, he could see the battle between FLAG and Mastermind raging across all 3 floors of the mall. Right now he and the others were on floor 2, and forces on both sides and on all floors were firing from floor to floor, making it a hectic battleground.

OOC: Okay Zeph, you've been given an order.

[Zephie]

It looks like Hell. It smells like Hell. Hell, it even sounds like Hell.

Wraith's kind of Hell. He scans the area quickly, looking for targets through the walls, and enters one step behind Wolf. Just as his commander fells the one guard on the escalator, Wraith unhooks a stun grenade and tosses it up, just making the lip of the escalator, and fires up the moving stairs. Two more guards fall and trip over their buddy, taking shots to the chest, arms, and a few in the legs before tumbling head over heels down the steps.

The stun grenade then goes off on the upper level, disabling two more Mastermind soldiers and blinding one FLAG man for a few seconds. Wraith watches the FLAG troop duck down and hold his eyes while shouting into his mouthpiece, "MOVE!"

He twists quickly to his right and levels his two Uzis at the Mastermind soldier running out of a shop, hitting him dozens of times before finally dropping him. The soldier's rifle fires blindly at the ceiling, knocking out a few lights, glass domed fixtures, and monitors, dropping a rain of glass on everyone below.

As if there isn't enough going on, either, one soldier down the way lobs a frag grenade out of desperation and takes out three Mastermind soldiers dug in behind a counter... and sets off the sprinkler system with the resulting fire. Wraith grins as water drops down all around them and switches over to thermal mode, moving backwards towards Wolf and firing with him to kill another Mastermind troop. "Damn fine day to be a soldier, Colonel!"

(( Edit: Silly Zeph, sky fortresses don't have skylights. ))

[batgirl]

OOC: I'm baaaackkk! For the weekend that is. I have to say you've all been doing an awesome job, very stealthy and bloody, just the way I like it. Anywho, I'll have a post up sometime tomorrow once I think of a good one.

[Wolf99x]

Wolf provided cover fire for the others as the sprinklers went off. He saw Kaitlin fire her twin TMP-75s into a cluster of Mastermind troopers, dropping a few, and then Miller cut down the rest with his KBP-360. Kaitlin dropped down behind the same bech as Wolf, while Miller used a row of trash cans for cover, creating an improvised machine gun nest with them.

Wolf spoke into his codec. "Miller, find the commander of the FLAG forces here."

"Roger," Miller said. "Attention all FLAG troops, this is Captain Miller, whose leading this unit?"

The reply crackled back through Wolf's codec "This is Lt. J.G. Brando, I'm in charge here. I've got about 5 men pinned down by heavy fire, the rest are scattered about the mall."

"Got it...we're moving to you're position...where are you?" Miller asked.

"Um...I'm pinned down in an Abercrombie and Fitch on floor 1. Needless to say some expensive yet crappy looking shirts are being shredded here."

"On the way, just hold on." Miller said. "You get that?" he asked Wolf.

"Yes I did. Have your team provide cover for me and Kaitlin...then you follow us down." he disconnected as he watched some of Miller's FLAG forces start firing down the escalator, clearing a path.

"You first," Wolf said to Kaitlin "I'll cover you."

Kaitlin ran to the escalator and started running down it, firing her omni-falcon and throwing stars with lethal accuracy.

Wolf was about to move when somebody shouted to him. "Colonel, look out!"

Wolf turned around, and saw a Mastermind trooper weilding an M79 grenade launcher, Wolf leapt over the bench as he fired his Colts, hittting the soldier in the chest. But it was too late, the dying soldier got off a shot, firing the genade which landed 7 feet from the bench. The concussive force of the blast lifted Wolf up and threw him over the railing, sending him falling towards a fountain at the bottom of the escalator.

Isn't this where Tony Montana wound up? he thought just before hitting the water.

(OOC: I'm making this a kind of deep water fountain...like maybe 6 feet or so at it's deepest point, it's shallower around the edges of course.)

***

Kaitlin saw him fall. "Jason, NO!" she shouted as she kept firing, running to the fountain, intent on bringing him up to the surface of the water.

More Mastermind soldiers came after her, she began to drop some of them, but realized there were too many. Shit...I'm going to die with him... she thought.

Suddenly, like an venegeful spirit, Wolf rose out of the fountain, Colt .45s blazing away. The Mastermind soldiers crumpled under his assault. As the Colts clicked empty, Wolf finished them off with a TMP-75 while Kaitlin added her own assault into the mix.

Wolf activated his codec "First floor clear, Lt. Brando, your men can come out now."

Then he contacted Wraith, Angel, and Miller who was already heading down. "Okay, let's clean up the rest of these punks and get moving."

Wolf and Kaitlin sought some cover behind some internet kiosks while Brando's team fired at Mastermind troops on floors 2 and 3.. Once behind cover, Kaitlin wrapped her arms around Wolf.

"Don't ever scare me like that again...I thought you were dead." she said.

"Don't worry...I don't plan on leaving anytime soon." he said hugging her back. "Now...we still have a job to do...so let's get back to business."

Both broke their embraces, drew their guns, and set about dealing out death to Mastermind's troopers.

[Zephie]

Up on level two, Wraith is already going about dealing out his licks. Instead of the usual duck, cover, fire, and move, however, he's decided to do things differently... by simply walking straight down the center aisles, providing an easy target.

Mastermind soldiers poke their heads up between shots and spot Wraith, but usually when they try to fire, Wraith is just a step quicker and nails them with either a knife, a pistol shot, or both. Sometimes one of FLAG's troops even finishes the job for him, catching them while they're distracted by the apparent idiot walking down the aisles. Soldiers who think he's easy prey step out and fire away blindly, only to find that he drops them faster with a feint to the left, a roll to the right, and a shot to the head.

So calm and collected is he that he ignores the two slugs he takes to the chest, instead dropping the soldier shooting him with a knife to the throat. Beside him, one of FLAG's soldiers rises up and hurries over, trying to cover him. "Jeez, are you okay?!"

"Kevlar," he tells her with a grin. Patting his vest confidently while shooting a fleeing Mastermind soldier in the back, he adds, "Hurts like a bitch, but I've lived through worse."

She starts to crack an uneasy smile, then suddenly points behind him and looks alarmed. He, too, points behind her, and they both exclaim at once, "Behind ya!"

Both drop to one knee and lean to the right, firing a few shots into the soldiers running up behind the other and leaping over a bench each. They hit them before they can fire any intelligent shots, and rise to look behind themselves at the dead MM troops as they trip and fall over the benches. "Nice shot," he says.

"Likewise," he answers, then points behind him. "Join Java squad and help clean out this area, Sergeant, then regroup with Wolf and Miller's command group on level one."

"Aye, Major," she replies, hurrying off to an isolated shop where a small gunfight rages between three Mastermind troops and four FLAG men.

For his part, Wraith continues on his way, dropping one more soldier casually.

(( What can I say? I'm a hopeless character creator. @_@ ))

(( Not to mean this is anything permanent (though ya'll can reuse her if you like; that's just one more defined troop), I just love creating random characters out of thin air. ^^ ))

(( Oh, and I almost forgot: welcome back! ...For the weekend... ; ))