The Line in the Stars (IC) [PG/14]

[Lisky]

Base of Pirate Tower

With the team in decent shape given the current series of events Knight went and called up Nitro first, "Bravo is good, we will be there shortly with some stretchers for Cyndi and the pirate girl."

Looking back towards Ben, Knight said, "alright, someone is going to have to help Jaice over there get upstairs, we're going to need everyone else to help with the stretchers or providing cover for those carrying.  The Major has decided to lead a rescue party, so we're supposed to hold tight here and get our people ready to move.  I don't like the idea too much, but orders are orders."  He paused for a second and handed Ben the laser rifle, "you'll probably need a weapon, if that EMP took out your suits, i'd guess the weapons got fried too.  I've still got my pistol so don't worry about it."

Taking a moment to get everyone up and ready, Knight continued, "judging from the reports i've heard, i'd say laying low, and in the top of the tower is probably safest, those with long range weapons can provide cover fire while the rest of us prep the wounded for evac.  If anyone else has a better suggestion, i'm all ears... "  He paused for a moment to lean against a support pillar.  "If there's no complaints, Hacker, you got point, Ben watch the rear, as i said, i don't know what weapons you guys have that are working, and i don't want to take any chances.  Lets saddle up people."

Knight drew his pistol, and followed a few steps behind Hacker, making his way with the rest of the team back up the tower.

[Lushin]

Sniper position
Romulus spoke towards Ana as he moved.
"Guess that mean you won't be coming with us"
Romulus ducked for cover as the bullets whizzed by. He was on the ground scanning areas for possible sniper spots before Ana even asked.
First he scanned areas he himself would snipe from then scanned any place someone could get a shot off. Romulus clicked on his radio.
"Sniper over the battlefield. I suggest you guys take cover for now. I'm trying to locate them now"
Romulus then spoke to Alex and Ana as he searched for the sniper.
"I don't think they are a good sniper. If they where one of us would be dead with that first shot"

[Azlan]

Base of the pirate tower


Micheal Harsen, aka Hacker, headed up front as ordered.  Ben took the offered rifle with a nod, "you heard the lieutenant, let's go.  Keep your sidearms ready.  Wall, help Jaice, and Rino, can you hold up?"

"Ye..s, staff sergeant... the busted rib really hurts, so does my head.  I can walk, though those stairs are really going to suck."  Rino replied, ears back.

Like a well-oiled machine, a slightly battered and broken one, the team moved.  The pirates outside were too occupied behind their rubble barriers vainly trying to hold back the robots, to take much notice of what was going on in the tower.  Most assumed that whatever took out the building must have claimed both friendly and hostile.  The ascent back up the tower was slow, Knight had to eventually help Rino for the remainder of the last flight of stairs.

Everyone had been moved to the top floor, Cyndi was there a lot paler then when they had left her, and she managed a smile at seeing the rest of the group.  Wall helped Jaice to the ground and then approached Nitro, the feline and bear grasped hands and performed a typical male greeting ritual of some type.

"Fuck Don, a whole floor gets dropped on you and you're still fuckin here."  Nitro said with a half-laugh.

The kodiak nodded, "you all call me Wall for a reason Remus, 'cause I'm a hard motherfucker."  With a nod, both parted and returned to their tasks.  The bear knelt down next to Cyndi, "how you doing?"

"Hurts like fucking hell you brickhead!"  She growled at him with an evil smile, accompanied by a wince.

Wall nodded, "that's good girl, when it doesn't hurt you better yell... 'cause that's bad.  I'm not going to have you go down especially when you still owe me 50 creds from cards last night."  With a nod and a squeeze of her shoulder the bear known as Wall picked up the gauss rifle, examined it and nodded, "It'll do... with your permission Lieutenant."  It was more of a statement than a question, "where do you want us?"




Sniper Position


Ana sighed, "look Romulus, now is not the time for casual conversation.  We can talk about why were all here later.  I'll probably need help now... er, squid!"  The vixen winced as if in pain for a second, though no wound was visible, and leaped to the ground a mere few seconds before the wall where she was shattered from tremendous force, "20mil... anti-material sniper rifle.  Two snipers.  They are both targeting me.  Yes, they probably are not as good as you two, but my precognition encantation is keeping me a step ahead."

Despite the fire, Romulus and Alex could not clearly identify their specific locations, both were likely well camouflaged.

"You both are really good right?  I hope so..."  She looked up and winced, "here's the deal, I'm not supervixen, I'm going to get it at some point if we keep this up.  I'm going up and draw fire, my shield should hold out against the lighter round.  I've only tested shield against a 50 cal, and it held, so the 20mil may or may not.  If not, there is going to be a magnificent gory rainstorm.  You have one shot at this, make it count, I can't rebuild my shield fast enough to take a heavy round again."

Without waiting for a reply, the vixen shot into the air, energy crackling over her arms.  The blue vix was correct that she was a high priority target for them as the 7.62mm round bounced off her shield just before the 20mm round crashed into it.  The force push the invisible wall all the way to her body.  The weight of the shot had dipped its ballistic trajectory downward, and she was bent forward at the waist eyes shut tightly as she strained against some unseen force.  A few seconds and eventually the flattened, large round slid off her midsection and tumbled to the ground.  Ana swayed in midair for a second before tumbling out of the sky and landing back first on the hard ground.  Though it was a slightly slower fall than would be expected.

Her reckless act did reveal both snipers, widely apart.  Neither had spotters and both were quickly scrambling for cover.  Alex snapped off a shot, taking out the one with the lighter rifle and a mere second before he got behind cover. 

[ShadesFox]

Aaron adjusted to the new HUD.  It could prove to be useful, once it stopped being so annoying.  He also decided against adding more commentary to the Loki and Ixiah points.  He would endeavor to discuss that with them later.

"Things look clear now.  Let's move quickly to meet up with Knight and Romulus's team."

Aaron looked for a relatively clear and straightforward route and, after quickly finding one, leads his grab bag of a team to the first 'objective point'.

[Lushin]

Sniper Position
Romulus focused on the other sniper. Once he even got a decent shoot he took it.

[Prof B Hunnydew]

"Are you an Adult Wendy, now, Mother? Warning her daughter about carefree Peter Pan?" ask the catgirl looking into Mother's eyes.  "Yes, I know enough about Loki to know he is not going to be emotionally mature for marriage or a girlfriend until I am long dead and turned to dust." sign Nova.  "but my  heart may not care about that.  Oh, I may live long enough to tick-off at his childish antics. and my heart will find someones else.  Yet I might enjoy the moment, until the future worries become great a burden.  Peace, Mother I won't hurt Loki and he may move on to something or someone else without me, saying anything."

Nova turn to back to her scanners, watching the outside events, and she send to Aaron  " Sir, Romulus is taking sniper fire, and may need help.  Romulus please report. "   She also check to insystem scans, for any other pirate activity beyond the base and orbit.

PBH

[Azlan]

Pirate Base - evacuation team


Careful maneuvers through a rather open area is what was called for, and the mismatched group accomplishes that without much of a hitch.  They reach the first objective point, a demolished, small utility shed.  The remains of the building provide an amount of cover, as the area is surveyed.  Aaron's group is approaching from the long way, swinging around and coming in on the Command tower from the airfield side instead of the area near the remains of the barracks.

Unfortunately the last leg of the journey before they reach the building is another stretch of open area, heading towards the fighting.  The one thing they have going for them is that the building is largely between them and the fighting.




Sniper position


Romulus gets as good a shot as he is going to get and ends the career of a promising pirate sniper.  Better that than the alternative.

He is aware of Aaron's movements, but there is no position at or near the assigned sniper position that can cover that area.




Command Center


The data on Romulus's position turns green, opposing sniper fire neutralized without casualty to the team. 

One other bit of data on Aaron's position shows there is an observation bunker near the fence line between the base and the airfield.  It is midway between his current position and the Tower, but he would have to move towards the airfield which is essentially the opposite direction from their objective.

The observational bunker shows a small energy signature, but cannot determine life signs as the scanning abilities from the ground can only isolate groups of five to six roughly adult human/anthro sized creatures.

[Lushin]

Sniper Position
Romulus clicked on his radio.
"Snipers neutralized. Be aware Aaron we won't be able to cover your movement. Do you want us to find another position to better cover you?"

[Prof B Hunnydew]

" Romulus and Aaron, Be adviced There is an observational bunker showing with a energy signature.  It is midway between your position, Major and the Tower. All I am can pcikup is isolated groups of five to six persons around the compound.  For you to aviod the observation bunker, you'll need to go toward the airfield." reports Nova to assault com.  " I am sending Data location on the bunker" 

PBH

[ShadesFox]

Aaron was about to give Romulus the go ahead, until the message about the bunker came in.

"Romulus, see what you can find out about that bunker.  Odd energy signatures have not been our friends lately."

Aaron didn't like being not covered by snipers, but his point about odd power signatures still stood.  After double checking that things were clear Aaron lead his assorted comrades across the last stretch of open area, hopefully finding a way into the building with out exposing themselves to the fighting.

[Lisky]

Pirate Tower

Knight gently eased Rino up the last few sections of stairs as her broken rib was starting to really bother her.  He eased her down against one of the consoles and said, "you think you'll be okay to move after a rest, or am i going to need to carry you a bit?"  he smiled and squeezed the other snow leopard's shoulder, flashed her a smile and gave her a quick, "i'll be right back."

As he went to go check on Cyndi, he noticed Wall had things in had, when the bear asked about the Gauss rifle, Knight replied, "it's all yours if you want it, i'm avoiding rifles for a bit." while nodding towards his left side... "think you could help cover the rescue's approach..."
He paused as the team looked at him.  Knight went and checked his HUD, saw the location of the backup team and said, "Ben and Wall, cover the airfield as best you can, Hacker, take the Airfield as well.

Leaning down to scoop up Cyndi's rifle, Knight handed it off to Jaice while saying, "i need you and Nitro to watch the Barracks."

Looking at Wall, "before you take up a position, think you could help me get Cyndi onto our stretcher, and the pirate girl onto one of the makeshifts?"  

Once the injured were somewhat secured, Knight leaned back against a console, right by Rino.  He himself was starting to feel the effects of the wound again and all he could do was sit down and let the waves of nausea and dizziness pass.  He smiled at the other snow leopard again and said, "don't worry about me... i'll be okay in a minute, but how are you holding up... those ribs should be looked at you know..."

[techmaster-glitch]

Pirate Airspace

  Burns was quite surprised when another fighter came out of nowhere as Burns was on his attack angle for the tank. the other fighter strafed the tank with cannons, managing to knock out its missile pods before they could fire at Burns. The fighter then flew towards burns, pulled up and over, and flew above Burns while upside-down, giving a thumbs-up through his cockpit.
  Burns got just in the right area over the tank, and dropped a single bomb as he passed over. As the fireworks commenced, Burns sent a tight-beam transmission to the fighter above him. "Thanks for the assist, pilot."
  Burns then got back on the channels for the ground teams. "Ground teams, this is Warrant Officer Torson. We've taken out the pirate barracks, are there any other targets you need us to hit?"

[Azlan]

Sniper Position


Ana staggered over and collapsed next to Romulus, she hung her head panting heavily, "that took a lot out of me.  I'm beat.  Do you think we can rest for a bit, ow... I'm going to have a bruise from that.  The shot had a lot more power behind it then I had thought."

Ana did not ask if they had terminated the snipers, she knew these two were professionals even if they had lousy manners, "so what's next for you guys?"



Command Center


The energy signature is rather normal, but Nova recognizes it after studying it.  The signature belongs to an AMTS-00A, an automated targeting system for Surface to Air Missiles (SAM).  The design is old, but recognizable.  The steady, low-power state of the system likely meant the unit was in standby or offline and posed no threat to anyone at this point..



Approach to the tower


A small head popped out from the entrance to the SAM bunker and immediately ducked back in.  A few seconds later a small hand holding a machine pistol began firing at Aaron's little expedition, spraying light pistol rounds at them with reckless abandon.



Pirate Tower


Everyone assisted moving the wounded ladies to the stretchers, the tigress complained the most of the two, and she was not looking too good, "she has more synthetic plasma in her then real blood at this point.  With almost all our medical supplies up here, I can keep both of them alive for a while, but we need to reach medical ASAP."  Nitro stated as he checked both over and adjusted to make them as comfortable as possible.

Rino smiled evilly at Knight, "I'll live as long as I don't pitch myself down the stairs.  The bone split in half, but it hasn't shifted out of place much.  You are the one who needs to be looked at, you are looking a lot like Cyndi... same look in your eyes and when you smiled I could tell your gums are rather pale.  Perhaps I should carry you?"

Ben, Wall, Nitro, and Hacker all took up positions.  Jaice took the rifle and hobbled over to a spot near Nitro.  It was painful to stand, but he did his best as he scanned the rubble and open area between the two buildings.

Those covering the airfield were immediately alerted to the presence of an assailant in the bunker and began to attempt a quick assessment.  None of the three could pick out an enemy as the bunker provided full cover from their angle.

"Crap, he has cover from the bunker."



Pirate Airspace


Burns received a tight-beam himself, "names Dex and you're are welcome."

The comm crackled to life, "their is a hostile in a bunker assaulting the major, but any strafing or bombing would be far to dangerous to the ground team."  

[Prof B Hunnydew]

Command Center

"Major Signature is identified as an AMTS-00A system.  The SAM is in standby, seem and it is not a threat until someone powers it up." reports Nova.

PBH

[Lushin]

Sniper Position
Romulus heard the radio and then looked to Ana.
"Well we're *gestures towards Alex* moving to help cover a bunker"
Romulus then looked at Ana.
"Don't know what you're doing"
Romulus clicked on his radio.
"On my way"
Romulus began moving towards the bunker.

[Lisky]

Pirate Tower

Knight managed a weak smile as Rino mentioned her possibly carrying him, the mental image managed to bring a quiet chuckle from the Lieutenant as well.  He replied softly, "best you make sure you're okay yourself before you make an offer like that... I think I'll be okay to walk anyways." 

As he just sat back he heard the chatter in the radio, and the mention of a pirate firing on the rescue team brought a small flood of adrenaline back into Knight's system.  He clicked to Rom's channel and said, "Rom, think you can cover them, or should i organize a strike team and hit the SAM site?".

He then switched over to Aaron's channel and said, "we've got you covered as best we can from the top of the tower... but we've got no shot Major... do you need backup, or do you think you can handle things for now?"

[Lushin]

On the move
Romulus clicked on his radio.
"I'm heading for the bunker now"

[ShadesFox]

There was once a man who said, "The best place to be standing to survive a volley from a machine pistol is directly in front of it.  Damn things never shoot straight".  Aaron decided that this person was full of fail and demonstrated his displeasure with phrases like "FUCK!" and "SHIT!" and "HOLY CRAP!"  When the volley subsided there was oddly no damage.  Well, some armor got winged, but what is armor for if not to take such shots?  The fact that the shooter wasn't looking probably helped as well.  Aaron made a hasty decision that may not have been the smartest of decisions,
"Marissa, Saioko, keep the area covered, Ixiah, Loki, cover that door way, Richard come with me."

It took Marissa a moment to parse the instructions, but she watched the area that Ixiah and Loki were not firing fusion pistols into.  Saioko did similar, though wasn't quite sure what to do.  Richard was about to ask if Aaron really wanted to go through with a plan that involved running at the guy with the machine pistol, but it was too late as Aaron seemed to be executing that part of the plan already.  The poor fellow behind the door was furiously trying to reload his machine pistol.  The large amounts of adrenalin in his system was not helping in this manner and neither were the blasts from the fusion pistols.  There were some things that a 14 year old's mind were ill equipped to process.

When the pistol fire died down, the little raccoon looked around the corner and came face to face with an Aaron.  Aaron was taken for a surprise too, shouldn't have been but he was.  It seemed, that this would be a game of 'who can level their gun at the other guy and squeeze first'.  Jacob, the racoon boy, seemed better equipped for this game having a machine pistol versus Aaron's carbine, while Aaron was more calm (Aaron was controlling his adrenalin output).  However, Aaron was also not playing that game, rather he was playing the, 'Who can telekinetically blast the other guy in the face first' game.  Aaron won that game, and the afore mentioned 'who can level their gun at the other guy and squeeze first' game was interrupted.  This trick was new to Aaron, as evidenced by the fact that the kid hit the floor harder then Aaron wanted.

After making sure that the rest of the immediate area was cleared he went in and set about to making sure that the kid was tied up and his machine pistol was well away.  He gets on his radio, "This is Aaron I've got the bunker entrance.  The poor guy was just a kid!"

[Azlan]

Command Center


Nothing else draws any interest from the scanners.  Mara feels bored and longs to return to Matron.  Something senses the little one's mood and an electronic mouse appears, piquing the interest of the young feline.



Sniper Position


The glow fades away from Ana's eyes, shifting from solid pools of iridescent gold to very pretty amber orbs.  The vixen exhales and shrugs, "I'll go with you, I'm out of power for awhile, but I still have good optics.  If you are trying to cover the airfield side of that tower I blew up... then, well... you are out of luck.  This hill tapers off into plains, eliminating any height for sniping.  That's why there are watchtowers over there."

She shrugged again and gave Romulus a blank stare, "what, you want me to raise a mountain for you over there?  Unless you want to fly, you aren't going to be sniping in that area."



Pirate Tower


Rino nodded, "I know, but there are more important hings going on right now.  I'm not hacking up blood, or even coughing... no trouble breathing, but it hurts and I can feel bone rubbing against bone in a very sharp agonizing pain when I move too much.  I'm dizzy, but don't feel especially tired... I can make coherent sentences and hold conversation.  I'm in as good a shape as I can be in with the injuries, I'm more worried about Cyndi."

The timber wolf turned her head towards both of them and nodded, "s'kay fer now... I'm getting tired of the pain though."

"They got it covered out there lieutenant.  I'd almost think the Major and Captain were real soldiers... except for the charging the bunker thing.  The major's two bonded ones are rather good soldiers."  Ben stated as he received the major's report.



SAM bunker


The raccoon kid was out cold and easily bound,

Both Loki and Ixiah bound into the bunker and right up to Aaron.  Speaking in unison they are both very exited, "wow Aaron, you used telekinesis!  You need more control, but the potential is definitely realized!"

Both take a moment to give the larger fox a big hug.  Richard leaned against the entrance with a very mischievous look across his wolf muzzle, "aaaaawwwww.  Group hug!"  Richard took large strides and wrapped his arm around all three of them.

"Ack!  Wolf crush life out of us!"

[Lisky]

Pirate Tower

With what seemed to be the majority of the problems over, Knight eased up to his feet, rather slowly, given his lightheaded feeling.  After he checked the HUD map and things seemed clear, Knight tried issuing some orders, but they came out in tone more like casual conversation, lacking his usual authority.  He said, "Jaice, why don't you sit down and get off that bad ankle... <heavy sigh> Hacker take his spot..." The spotted feline winced in pain as his left hand tapped the edge of one of the console housings. He released another heavy sigh, then continued, "So, for now, i guess we hunker down and wait for the major..."

After taking a little walk around the tower, he sat back down by Cyndi, Rino and the wounded pirate girl.   He looked at the tigress and hoped she'd pull through.  He asked softly, "how are you holding up?"

He then eased back into his sitting position, and did his best to keep alert and awake... which was rather difficult give his sudden urge to curl up and take a nap.  He tried focusing on the others who were depending on him... so he tried having a mild conversation, "So Cyndi, Rino... where are you two from? and what made you join the ISF?"  he asked in a strained voice.

[Lushin]

Sniper position
Romulus looked at Ana.
"Ok where do you suggest we move out to? I gotta cover the bunker and the base"

[ShadesFox]

SAM bunker

"Heh... yes.  It was just a simple bolt of telekinetic force.  But at that distance it must have felt like a sack of bricks hitting his OOF."

Aaron couldn't help but wonder about Richard.  He insists that he isn't much of a fighter, but he was certainly a rather strong one!  Though the fact that Ixiah and Loki seemed synchronized and using the first person plural was also interesting.  Less so to a person being squished between two psychic kits by a wolf.

"An affectionate bunch we are.  Still, we need to get to the tower and extract the team there."

One last quick squeeze from Richard later the group double checked the SAM bunker.  Though he probably could not hear Aaron, he still leaned over and said, "You're too young to get yourself killed doing stupid shit."
They then headed off, they would retrieve the raccoon later.

[Prof B Hunnydew]

Mara was getting bored until she saw that mouse.  Nova is busy trying to keep an eye on the scanners and worrying about the pirate's on the planet and near space.  So far, Nothing, there was no communications for the other planet or the orbital station.  No distress signal made it from the base, but someone, somewhere could be make a call to the base, and then what.

With a last look at Nova, Mara pounces on the mouse, which escape at lightening speed.  Mara spots the little morse again under the console and chases after it down a small ventilation shaft.

PBH

[Azlan]

Pirate Tower


Personnel restructured as ordered, but Ben and Nitro both exchanged looks.  Nitro shook his head and shrugged, prompting Ben to kneel down next to Knight, "lieutenant, why don't you take a rest for a bit, I can handle things for awhile until the major arrives."

Nitro looked Knight over and gave him a shot of something cold.  Within a few moments, the fogginess in his head lessened.  Nitro followed it up with a shot of Synth-plasma, as well as another round for the two ladies.  The tigress cooed and made a slight purr, "oh, do that again..."

"All in good time, just rest."  Nitro said as he resumed his position.

It took a moment for her to respond, as if she was mulling the thoughts about in her head, "I... I... guess I'm still here.  I...I'm s...sure you're tired of hearin me complain about... pain, so I'll refrain from comment."  She stopped and closed her eyes, she remained that way for a minute.  It was just as Knight was beginning to worry that she reopened them and with a smile said, "Jeanne... Pewar... my name, in case I don't..."  her smile faded as her voice trailed off and the feline began to cry for a bit before shaking it off, "I'm sorry."

Cyndi gave her fellow injured patient a small pat on the shoulder as she mulled over the question posed by Eric, but it was Rino who answered first, "I'm from Kalinost City on Antares Prime in the TC.  I was actually sort of drafted into the ISF.  You see, all of Ben's team, besides Ben himself were kind of pirates serving the green kit we are all guarding now.  He was psychically influencing everyone, so when my ship was boarded by his pirates and we were taken prisoner, it was not long before I suddenly felt an urge to join his merry bunch.  Rom and Ben both defeated Loki, we were all released."

Rino paused for a moment, "I guess the ISF force performed background checks on many of us, Captain Summers chose some unorthodox tactics, because those of us that met certain criteria were offered to be part of a new SpecFor team being assembled.  I spent my required time in the trade Confederation military as part of the Space Force as a Special Operations Weather Technician*... a Space Force Commando, so I was a good candidate.  The rest is history."

Cyndi sat up a bit with a wince, resting her hand on the red stain visible through her bandages with a heavy sigh, "s...same here, except I wasn't any special commando or prior military like everyone else.  I was the only person without a questionable background that had communication training.  I'm from the Corporate Sector Colony of Maia in the Tauri system.  I'm not even an ISF citizen.  The Corporate Sector is a loose confederation of corporate worlds that formed a mutual protection pact.  I have nothing back home I care about, so if I finish the required time in ISF military service, I'll be granted citizenship... life will be much better not having to work for the CS."


*Special Operations Weather Technician: Tactical observer/forecasters with ground combat capabilities.  They collect and interpret meteorological data and provide space, air, and ground forces commanders with timely, accurate intelligence. They collect data, assist mission planning, generate accurate and mission-tailored target and route forecasts in support of planetary special operations, and conduct special weather reconnaissance.



Sniper Position


The vixen grinned widely, a slightly unsettling thing, as it made her look rather evil, "why in the sky of course.  Can you shoot off the edge of a hovering ship?  Don't worry, she's very stable."

Alex was about to make a wisecrack, but he found himself to be several meters away from where he last remembers himself being and apparently in midair, "what the hell?"

Glimmering white energy drifted from Ana's left hand, generating a surface large enough for both the wolverine and coyote to stand upon.  Both felt a slight bump, and then the vixen did something unspeakable, she released the power in midair.  Alex flailed about yelling loudly for a few moments as Ana stood by with the same expression across her muzzle as when she first met Alex.

It took a moment for the fact that they were not falling to register to the younger coyote.

"will this help?"  The space beneath their footpaws turned opaque, slowly resolving into a lustrous, black fuselage.  The object they were on was triangular and appeared to be made of some crystalline substance, "don't worry, they still can't see this from the bottom and you can fire over the leading edge of the wing."



Tower Entrance


The major's rescue group reached the tower without any further incident and carefully crept in a hole on the opposite side of the building from the entrance that Eric and Ben had used much earlier.

Mounting the stairs, the team reaches the top floor in short order.  Loki and Ixiah are the first up.  Neither have much time to say anything as they are both parted by the fast movement of a certain female feline.

"Eric!  Are you okay?" Saioko kneels down and gives him a careful hug, avoiding the injured shoulder.

Ixiah nods sagely, "I knew that would happen."



Command Center


The consoles send a message showing a power up near the hangers, same area the cloaked ship was detected at, and its very fast travel to a position where Romulus was indicated as being.

The location for Romulus and Alex shift to several meters in the air.

[Lushin]

Sniper position
Romulus watched Ana toy with Alex, raiseing an eyebrow while watching.
"One, though you said you where low on energy. Two, you not Acadian are you?"
Romulus looked down at the object he was now floating on.
"Oh yeah I feel real safe"
Romulus got into a shooting position and checked to make sure everything was sturdy. He then took a position on the platform and covered the bunker and the base.
"Yeah this will work'

[Lisky]

Pirate Tower

Knight nodded as Ben said he could handle things.  The spotted feline also replied, "i'll just be sitting here if you need anything."

Knight then got himself as relaxed as he could while avoiding putting pressure on the wounded shoulder.  He felt considerably better when Nitro injected him with something, and artificial plasma.  He perked up, and became slightly less pale as the injections did there thing.

As the pirate girl seemed to be loosing hope, knight smiled back and said, "we'll be leaving shortly, and if it helps, i'd rather you express your pain than hold it in... do whatever it takes to keep your strength up.  I said i'd try and help you, and i'm a man of my word... just, hold on a little longer."  He then nodded in approval as Cyndi offered the girl some additional comfort and support.

Listening intently, Knight heard the tale of how the injured ISF soldiers came to join this particular unit.  He himself was about to talk about his own past with ISF and ISIS when he heard the sounds of people coming up the stairs.  It sounded like heavy combat boots.  Knight checked his HUD and found it to be the rescue team.  He let out a soft sigh of relief as the sound of footsteps grew closer.

When he watched the door, he was not expecting a warm greeting from a certain pink haired pantheress.  he reached up and returned the hug, nuzzling up to her, and just enjoying the moment.  He eased his head back once the obvious affection had been shown, and nearly whispered, "it's not as bad as it looks, really Saioko... i'll live..."

He glanced around her to see what the others were doing before wrapping the girl up in another big hug.  He eased back and waited for the major, still feeling a little dizzy, but considerably better compared to only a few minutes ago.

[ShadesFox]

Tower

"That is much like saying you knew water would flow down the mountain."  Ixiah snirked at Aaron's comment.

Aaron surveys the damage, most people looked to be roughed up while a few looked to be in terrible shape, "Okay, if we know how we are moving everyone, Mother is close by.  When we're ready to head out we'll lead the way."

[Prof B Hunnydew]

"Mother, Major has reach the tower, and getting ready to move the wounded.  Data on the wound is coming in and I am passing this on to Medical." Nova reports to Mother.  "Romulus, stand ready the rescue team could be coming out of the tower in a moment. "No threats detected, but watch for stray pirate groups." 

Nova notices that her kitten is missing "Mother, Where is Mara?"

The ventalition system, Mara is one level down and several compartments away.  Mara has lose sight of the mouse, but is following her electronic sense to one of the service tube.

PBH

[techmaster-glitch]

Pirate Airspace

   Burns got the message that there was only one target left, but wasn't suitable for an airstrike do to friendly presence. "Acknowledged. In that case, we are returning to Meta." Burns sent a message ahead to Nazareth they they were coming in as Burns and the Zetas swung around. Burns sent one last message, back to the other pilot.
  "You owe me for toasting my ass, by the way. Just saying."

Command Center

   Nazareth noticed the power spike in the area where the cloaked dropship was, and that it was headed straight for one of the ground teams. He got on the comm. "Sergeant Romulus, alert; I am detecting an energy signature heading your way, moving fast. Be on guard."

[Prof B Hunnydew]

" Nazareth, and I believe the power signature you are see is the Techmages' little shuttle, we saw earlier.  It is under the Romulus and his friend right now.  Since, they shouldn't be several meter above the ground without any kind of support." remark Nova.  "The Power signature does match that the cloaked vehicle from before."  the catgirl turns on the comm and says "Hey, Romulus please report location and status.."

"To all fighters, Please ensure that all pirate fighter craft remain grounded. and also provide air cover until Mother receives the rescue team."

PBH