Post by ingen on Aug 30, 2021 15:45:31 GMT
Local Marchanders - Ingen (FatRambo)
Dr Kaveh - Kepler (Atriangle)
Kroma - Echotians (Salt)
Oscar - Kelvinist Wizard (Dr Coomer)
Seraphiel - Murifri (AngelWiings)
CHELEZ, NORTHERN MARCHAND
North of the Hornqvist Mountain range lay a small town named Chelez. Unremarkable and windswept, with high snow drifts, it was dominated by the three-storey offices of the Foothills Regional Hydroelectrical Administration. This building still bore some of the logos and signage of the Chelez Hydrocorp, from whom the buildings had been 'purchased' by the new Coalition Provisional Authority several months prior. Most of the building was underground, but the mercenaries found themselves in a lobby with thick windows of worn glass. Potted ferns decorated the shabby room, whilst the blue-and-white tricolour with the black anchor of the CPA hung limply from the door on what may have been an old coatrack.
The furniture was slightly too small for most of the visitors. After what seemed like a lifetime, they were ushered into an office in which a weary-looking Marchander waited behind a desk on which a plaque proclaimed her to be Director Whissel. Her rodent-like, mammalian face was neatly combed and her shirt seemed smart, but she was wearing a battered windbreaker as the office a little chilly. The wind battered at the windows as she waited for the mercenaries to sit.
"I am Director Whissel. You are here to help us with our pumping station, just so," she began without much ceremony, her voice accented with the laconic and heavy tones of a Marchander. "You read the packets yes? Four days ago Pumping Station 13 stopped responding to radio. The crew detailed for the next shift tried to head out two days ago but someone shot at them from the hills. We need you to go find out what has happened, clear any problems, and make the station safe for our workers to go back. We are paying in Jade Yen, 300 per head per day for two days with a 1,000 bonus if you get shot at. 15,000 to your estate if you die. Any questions?"
Kroma took the chance when he had it, shifting in his white armour to lean in closer to the other mercenaries. His demeanour was professional, but still held that bright spark of youth, and the voice that came forth from his warhelm was like chambered magma, boiling up through the macrys.
"Did the surviving crew discern anything about them before retreating? Did they mention numbers, or even the nature of the weapons that fired upon them?"
Whissel raised an eyebrow, her expression caustic.
"Pfft. Those roughnecks turned around the moment their windscreen got cracked. The damage suggests a gunpowder firearm, not unusual here in the sticks. They didn't even see who shot at them, and the dashcam didn't pick anything up either."
Poor little Oscar spoke up on hearing talk of being shot at, wearing a heavy coat and even heavier gloves.
“Well, powder guns might be a little primitive, but i'm pretty sure someone with one would still kill the most of us that are standing here. And getting shot at by someone we can see sounds, well. scary.”
Kroma nodded to Whissel's reply, almost disappointing to hear of the apparent lack of useful weaponry on the end of the occupying forces. Though he refrained for mentioning aloud, he assumed the sound of the gunfire ricocheting off of his plating would be more of a nuisance than the bullets themselves.
"Worry not, Sot'ka. You can leave the getting shot at to me."
Standing at the rear of the group but standing out regardless wherever she went. Standing at 5'8", with golden blonde hair, along with a floating golden halo, and glowing golden eyes. Her skin was pale, with a lean and curvy form. Two long pointed ears on her head. A slash of red war-paint across her face. From her forehead down through her nose ending on her cheek by her mouth. She was holding what looked like just a 6 foot tall black metal stick but the various buttons along where she was gripping it eluded to much more. The most striking thing save for the halo shining like a bright lantern in the room was her choice of clothing. Not being particularly effected by the cold she opted to not bring any sort of cold weather gear. What her natural resistances couldn't hold up to, she had her magic for. She was wearing a very loose silky white top that looked like it was meant for the desert. Stopping about halfway down her ribs. The looseness probably to make it easier to get it on with the two giant white feathered wings on her back. Each being about a foot taller than her, and if unfolded about double her height in length for each wing. Her bottom was a similar garb. A very loose fitting silky white sash that on her left side was only about to her hip, and on her right down to a few inches above the knee. She said nothing, neither did she sit. Holding her metal stick with both hands, and waiting. Both her shoulder-blade length hair, and her clothing seemed to wave in the wind like a gentle breeze was blowing them around. Something caused by the halo she had no control over. When she finally did speak her voice was gentle, but simultaneously powerful and commanding. Seeming to echo as if a second voice was speaking behind the ears, or in the mind. Yet another byproduct of the magical siphon that was her halo.
"If we are quite done bantering, can we begin the job?"
Kroma turned to look at the angelic figure, sizing up yet another staff-wielder; undoubtedly another mana-based warrior. Already more than he was comfortable with normally, but he wasn't going to be put off that easily.
"I like your initiative, but perhaps we should be more proactive in our approach?"
The large figure of the Echo turned back to Director Whissel,
"How far is this Station 13 from here? Will we be responsible for arranging our own transport there and back, or are there assets at our disposal?"
A little later than the others, and a slight bit lost, came in Dr. Halthet with a fur coat tightly pulled over his body and a backpack filled with his own personal equipment. He looked around the room as he tried to enter without causing too much of a disturbance from his tardiness and looked at the others, an ever so common marchlander, one of those Echotians he heard about, a winged figure, and a funny little man in a large hat.
He spoke up after everyone else finished talking.
"Sorry if I'm a little late. My name is Dr. Kaveh Halthet, the truck I paid to bring me here dropped me off at the edge of town, had to walk the rest of the way... Did I miss much?"
Well, no. i don't think you missed much. General gist of it from what I hear from the person who should be telling you this is that some native ruffians have taken over a radio station and shot at the people sent out there to turn it back on. No ones died, but knowing my luck I might be the first.
While the funny man spoke he gestured with his frost covered staff that had a weird copper with a black spotted pattern.
Whissel was not surprised at Dr Halthet's misfortune - if a Marchander spotted an opportunity to drop his passenger off a few blocks early and shave 5 minutes off his own trip home, he would.
She nodded. "Transport to the site is difficult. We have a glacier bus ready to go - it will be driven by our regional head of site maintenance, Key Neeld, who will go with you to the site. Needless to say if Mr Neeld dies or is incapacitated you lose any bonus pay."
She slid over a manila file folder with some maps and other papers inside. "There were twenty-three staff on-site, we would also appreciate if you could account for them but this is secondary to securing the site and helping Mr Neeld to get it running again for us to send a fresh crew."
She stood and crossed to the window, gesturing to a yard below where a large blue and yellow bus with outsized, rugged wheels waited. "If you are ready, my assistant will show you down."
Seraphiel stepped forward and took the document. Popping it open, as she started walking down to where the bus was. Looking over the maps, and skimming through the papers while speaking. Her voice like before heard twice. Once normally, and a second time simultaneously in the back of their minds.
"I will scout ahead, and get a feel for our quarry. Once you arrive I will rendezvous, and we shall begin."
She was curt, and walked out towards the door. In a quick assement, or possible even a assumption she gently shoved the folder of maps, and papers into Halthet's hands. Assuming the guy with doctor in his name was the most capable to look over them. Second only to herself of course! She walked right outside, and towards the bus. Not waiting up for the rest, and opting to head out into the field where the bus was to get a good area for takeoff.
Kroma nodded, clapping his two upper hands while pushing himself up out of the chair with his lower set. His sword dangled at his hip now, swaying slightly, a clear reminder of the Echotian devotion to close quarters.
"I am satisfied then, if the rest of you are ready to depart. My name is Kroma'Vol, by the way, but you can just call me Kroma."
His attention was mainly focused on the Doctor, but Oscar could feel Kroma's gaze meet his as well.
"We shouldn't give our flighty companion too much of a head start, weather willing, I would like to avoid any worsening conditions."
With a slight bit of disgruntlement Halthet took the manila folder and read through it while walking down and into the snow with the other three. He looked up after Seraphiel darted away and back to Kroma and his well armed and armored appearance.
"Nice to meet you Kroma, yeah we should get going.... Whats her deal?"
He got onto the yellow bus and sat near the front and put his bag of equipment on the floor infront of him and began to read through the folder with an open seat next to him.
The bus was old but well-made, the leather seats worn and soft but comfortable. There were seatbelts, and the seats themselves were a little small for the foreigners, but with the entire bus for just themselves they had space to stretch out.
The bus was already running when they boarded, but it was not until nearly ten minutes after they had settled down that their driver appeared. Old, perhaps late middle aged, with greying fur around his muzzle and a thick overcoat, he stamped onto the bus, shutting the doors and settling into the driver's seat.
"Hello, I am Neeld," he announced as he worked the cumbersome controls. "We go to Station 13, take a look, yes?"
There was a rumbling and they were off, the heavy vehicle growling as it rolled out of the yard and onto one of the main roads of Chelez, a two-lane street covered in snowdrifts. There were few people on the streets, most of them using the underground tunnels to get around, and it was only a few minutes before they passed the last few dilapidated buildings on the outskirts of town and headed up a low incline, moving south towards the sprawling and imposing mountains. Caused by volcanic activity thousands of years ago, they were dark and forbidding, so steep that their flanks showed streaks of dark igneous rock where the snow could not find purchase.
As they rumbled past small homes, Neeld turned on a radio which played some kind of hard bass folk music. Over the din, he turned to call back to his passengers.
"So! What brings you to Chelez? Neeld has no choice, but you? I see many fine and fancy peoples, you are not fitting in here I think."
Seraphiel by the time the lot of them got to the bus was ready to take off. At this point facing the group, and with a small smirk she gave one more simple sentence.
"I will see you soon, do not dally."
With a quick crouch, and the spreading of her wings she was off. Nearing close to 25 feet of a wingspan, she launched off into the air with a combination of her legs, and wings. Launching off vertically, and starting to bank around the old building they had met in just a few moments ago. Once she got to the facing of Station 13 she began to rapidly pick up speed. Exerting herself a bit to get to her top speed, and climb as high as she could without the wind bothering her too much. With her abnormally keen eyes more than most other races, she began to scan the path the bus would take, and if she got in range the station itself. Opting to stay high and as out of sight as she could be, she used her magic when she got closer. Prador usually frowned on stealth in any fashion, but she was no longer in her homeland, and her views had adapted quite greatly in her time outside of the isolationist nation only just now starting to get a ANCnet.
But regardless for a moment in the sky a brilliant light could be seen as her natural siphon, her halo glowed like that of a star, and a moment later she was out sight. The light around her bending rendering her invisible. But a very keen eye could still see the displacement of snow from her wings downdraft. And if she got too close to the ground two almost 12 foot long wings was exactly quiet
The funny man in the big hat sitting behind the big man in the funny armour spoke up.
“Well, i'm here so that i can put something fancy on my resume to get into the school i want to go to. I'm not the best mage, and i only did well enough in class, so I figure if I can get something exceptional under my belt before applying…..”
Kroma rested an arm across the seat, almost casually watching out the window to enjoy the landscape drift by.
"My Order requires a certain amount of experience from extra-planetary expeditions, trivial stuff for the most part, but missions such as these are coveted by my kin. I had to best three other knights to qualify for this position."
His helmeted head peered out into the falling snow, watching for movement every so often to ensure he wasn't caught unaware of their route.
"Not too bad a place though. Bet you don't get many mosquitoes."
"Your boss offered us a job here to go check out that station up here. For me at least it's a break over the rest. Can't say much about the others"
That must be Neeld, the person they should not get killed. If it was anything to go by what the file had written down it was likely an unresponsive radio and some jumpy locals given. Who could blame the locals? They were just subject to rather publicly one of the worst battles that he'd recently heard of from across the ancnet and aboard Kessho Kairo... It was probably for the better not to mention any ties to the Yokari...
Halthet put the folder down on chair next to him and did not bother buckling up, but rather looked over at Oscar with a great deal of concern.
"You don't even have any real experience outside of schooling?..... Uh Neeld, how long should this trip take?"
Neeld turned his head back to the road in front of him, eyebrows raised. "Ooosh, you are in training? Will be fun time I am sure. Maybe a couple more hours to site. Depends on roads, yeah?"
True enough, they spent the next couple of hours rumbling along various remote roads, winding their way up into the mountains, passing the occasional remote farmstead or warehouse as they ascended. Visibility was poor, even for Seraphiel, with heavy snow and dying light.
"About fifteen minutes!" called Neeld some time later, as the bus growled up a particularly steep incline. Almost immediately afterwards, he bought the bus to a sudden, jerking stop. His face was visible in the passenger view mirror, and he was staring off to their right up a short bluff, against the setting sun. Two figures were visible, perhaps three hundred metres away, silhouetted against the ridgeline. They were practically immobile, two pairs of glowing yellow eyes springing from dark, barbaric-looking silhouettes.
From above, Seraphiel could only pick them out because she would have seen them arrive, dark blots racing across the rough terrain seemingly unhindered before coming to a stop near the road.
"Oo-kay, we wait a moment here..." said Neeld nervously.
“I mean, i have a little bit of experience. I ranked 14th in my class for combat spellcasting, and have been adventuring for a good long month or two by this point after all!
“- wait, why are we st- what the hell is that?”
Without the glowing eyes and knowing in what direction to look there was no chance that Oscar would have seen them.
The poor magician looked rather nervous, holding the staff in his left hand, one end resting on the floor in the isle.
Serpahiel could see just fine in the dark, but the snow did a fine job of obscurring her vision. Her vision turning black, and white when it became this dark. Her dual pupils turned to face the two, and she got right above them before breaking her stealth. Her halo lighting up the night sky like a streak in the air. She did a dive straight downwards, tucking her wings in, and rocketing down. Flipping around and rapidly flapping her wings to slow herself. She'd land directly behind the two, talking at the final stages of her landing. She was prepared to disengage, or block their attacks but wasn't being outwardly hostile with her weapon.
"Name thouselves, and intentions at once. Or by Uri'el's fury you will be stricken down."
Kroma peered through the window into the darkness, his natural night vision assisted by the warhelm he wore cutting through the dusk-lit storm. He would have suggested a more tempered response, perhaps even volunteered to venture out from here on foot. Once he saw the spotlight however, all ideas of subtly seemed distant.
He moved from the seat and made his way to the front of the transport, almost casually readying his rifle as he took a seat nearer to the driver. If this went south, he wanted to ensure Neeld had a competent bodyguard.
"What is that....."
Kaveh muttered to himself as he peered out of the busses window at the two figures and then the blinding light from their other compatriot. He ducked down and rummaged through his bag and pulled out a surplus carbine sized rifle, captured surplus from the war on this planet he bought off a back street dealer before coming here and made sure it was loaded.
"Oscar.. Get down. What the hell is birdbrain doing up there?"
The doctor whisper shouted at him to get out of sight of the window, and already using some creative language for his compatriots. A slight tinge of fear went through him as he crept up closer to the front of the bus to get a better look at the two figures and to help Kroma protect Neeld.
The two figures' raised their heads to watch as Seraphiel descended, turning in the saddle of what turned out to be jetbikes. They were clad in ornate mud-red combat armour with dark blue fatigues beneath, chased in silver. Their helmets had horns in the style of ibex, whilst their faces were hidden by snarling masks depicting some kind of predatory felid with long fangs. The glow of their eyes appeared to be artificial, lenses in a combat helmet. Each clutched a long spear that was couched in a rest at the side of their bike.
They regarded her silently for a moment before bursting into laughter, their voices deep and guttural. "Gadaadynkhan! Ter bidniig barivchlakh uu?!" asked one, struggling to get the words out whilst pointing in Seraphiel's direction. The other composed himself first, placing a hand on his thigh and leaning towards Seraphiel. When he spoke, his voice was monosyllabic and heavily accented.
"I am Sergeant Hulegugin of the 203rd Jade Marine Regiment, and I am patrolling this area after reports of Merger activity." he said lightly. "And just who are you?"
--
Aboard the bus Neeld hissed at the others. "Shit! Put away, put the guns away! Those are domovoi! I mean, ah, they are the Ingeners. They are 'helping' the CPA, or that is why they say they are still here. We don't need trouble with them so put fucking guns away!"
He watched intently, his eyes barely peeking over the lip of the cab window, hoping things didn't go south as the distant angelic figure spoke to the two figures.
Seraphiel cocked a small smirk, but did not change her daemenor all that much. Like every-time she spoke those near to her heard her voice twice. Once in the back of their heads, and once out loud.
"I am here to assist in reclaiming a radio tower. Along with that bus, perhaps it is mergers, perhaps bandits regardless it is my duty to do as I've sworn."
The woman re-spread her wings once more. Dwarfing the two bikes, as she crouched, and prepared to launch herself into the air. She asked before the launched off.
"Do you have any other pointless questions, or can we go?"
The other soldier glanced at Hulegugin. "Bid tüüniig buudakh yostoi yuu?" he asked, his tone earnest. There was a pause, and then the sergeant shook his head. "Nah."
He gestured with his free hand to check Seraphiel. "Slow down, gaijin. Who asked you to do this? What radio tower?"
The angelic woman slowly raised herself back up with a face that just showed 'Are you fucking kidding me?' Her wings slowly folded up behind her back, and she folded her arms under her chest. Sticking her weapon into the snow.
"CPA, and Pumping Station. I mis-spoke. Speak in a tongue I can understand, or I will not give you the same courtesy"
She replied. Brushing snow off of her wings by essentially wiggling them back and fourth. Her hair would get some snow on it, but as it breezed gently in the wind be it from her halo's reality bending effects on her, or through the actual wind most of it came off. The same could not be said about her actual skin, and the clothes covering her top, and hips/bottoms. She had thoughts of just killing the two here, and now. But for the sake of not making it a pain for her to get off-world she opted to reel in her murderous thoughts.
"Marine Ulbatai here was asking if he should shoot you, which he would be in his rights to do because we are the law here, not you." said the sergeant laconically. "I said 'no' but if I change my mind I will tell him in Common so you can understand," eliciting a chuckle from the other soldier.
He spoke in a third language for a moment, tilting his head as if speaking into a radio or phone. There was no audible reply, and the moment seemed to stretch out for a long, long time, the snow swirling around them. Eventually he nodded, replying again before straightening up.
"The Foothills Authority confirmed your story. So Pumping Station 13, eh? Sounds like a lot of fun."
He waved her onwards, up towards the mountains. "You and your friends stay safe out there. Maybe we'll come by to see how you are doing later, eh?" he said, the delivery suggesting some kind of joke Seraphiel was not privy to.
Seraphiel rolled her golden eyes. Though largely unnoticable due to the fact they were glowing golden eyes. She then crouched, grabbed her weapon, and launched off. Kicking up snow, and buffeting them with winds. She began heading up towards the mountain again. Not bothering to inform her comrades of the situation. She went back on her original course of getting to the station in advanced to do recon. her higher speeds, and aeriel advantage making it fairly easy.
Like before Seraphiel's halo lit up like a giant flashbang in the sky. Rendering her invisible once it faded out.
Neeld exhaled audibly, relieved, and started the bus again.
"All good, everyone is friends hey? I knew it would be alright," he said, a faint bitterness in his tone suggesting anything but
Kaveh gently sat his gun down on the floor of the bus as Neeld instructed. Past memories of deals gone wrong, all of those injuries and deaths he tried to fix, and on several occasions failed. Most of them started out like this, standoffs that got a little too jumpy before someone jumped first and ended with mutual injury. This was no place to repeat the errors of others.
He looked out at the window once more at their compatriotic winged figure conversing in their self created life with the two now revealed ingenious ones. Thankfully it seemed to end nicely.
"She could of handled it worse... What are those Ingeners doing out here?"
Kroma relaxed back into his seat, staying near to the front for now, content that they weren't going to have to shoot their way out of something unrelated to the mission.
"She reminds me of a younger me, give or take a pair of wings."
The Echo turned to look in the direction she had been headed, letting out a series of clicks as he assessed the terrain. He hoped she would refrain from any more brash actions upon her arrival, last thing they needed was their presence to be known before they even arrived on site.
Oscar had made what could only be described as a half assed attempt to get into cover. Getting out of his seat and crouching down so that his head was below the window, even if his rather large hat and staff were still visible, after the big scary lad had moved back to his seat however, Oscar had done the same.
“I don't know, but hey. At least they are not trying to kill us.”
The bus lurched forwards and, true to Neeld's prediction, it took less than half an hour for them to arrive at the site of Pumping Station 13. Nestled high in the mountains, with a narrow parking lot perched on a ledge in front of the main entrance, most of the building was nestled in the rock face. Up above them lay the reservoir, whilst beneath their feet a controlled waterfall spumed out into mist and foam below, freezing cold and merging seamlessly with the mists and fog that surrounded the facility. A single utility vehicle, a half-track sporting the old Chelez Hydrocorp logo, sat in the lot, piled snow suggesting it hadn't been touched in some time.
Bringing the bus to a stop, Neeld tugged on his hat and tucked a handgun into his belt before clambering out, lighting a smoke and then stretching. "This is front entrance. We go down some steps to the security office first, maybe someone there can tell us what is wrong."
He led the way towards a pair of metal doors set into a blank concrete facing in the wall, swiping an access card to open them. Nearly twice his height, they were large enough to admit the rest of the party easily. The lights were still on, strip lights with metal cages to prevent accidental damage, and illuminated a steep staircase of worked concrete with a worn metal handrail down one side. Perhaps 30 metres down there was another door, slightly ajar, with light leaking from behind it.
Neeld stopped, hesitant.
"Ahh...maybe someone else is going first?"
Kroma assumed that meant him, nodding to Neeld as he pressed past him to began down the stairs. His angular rifle had been drawn upon leaving the bus, and Kroma kept it trained on the doorway as he descended. He kept his profile narrow, though there was a conscious decision to remain placed between Neeld and the doorway. He slowed his advance as he approached the door, listening for signs of life on the other side.
One thing that immediately caught Kaveh's eye when he stepped out of the bus and pulled his jacket tightly over his clothing with a carbine and backpack in hand was that there was still a vehicle here. It didn't seem used, but it was still there.
"Place seems like a dam. Do you think part of it caved in and it flooded them out? They have a vehicle if they still needed to leave"
Kaveh stepped inside the steep stairwell behind Kroma and put a flashlight in his pocket if it was needed later. He didn't trust these lights or the wiring here, something here made him suspicious of noise. At the open door he motioned for the much better armored Kroma to go first with Oscar and Seraphiel going behind.
Oscar stayed a good ways up the staircase, far enough so that once the door opened he would be able to see a fair few feet into the room, but with the hope of being able to “shoot” at anyones legs if they tried to leave the room and rush him. As he did this he made a quiet callout to the rest of the group.
“If they start shooting you try to get out of the doorway, i might be able to burn-whatever is in there without them being able to get more than the first shot off.”
Like a spear from the sky Seraphiel appeared. She did several loops around the pumping station before, finally coming down. A burst of light as her spell broke, the Murifri landing with a small thud at the rear of the group. Seeing Kroma already taking point, but Oscar waiting behind she pushed past the mage and walked down the stairs. Catching up to take her place besides Kroma. While she preferred staying at a distance with a doctor, a mage, and being inside she opted to take point with Kroma. Her weapon still seeming just be some sort of strange metal stick. Having yet to activate it in any way.
As they got closer they could faintly hear a radio playing in the room. Creaking the door open, Kroma would see a room perhaps 500 square feet. To his right was a wall covered in monitors that displayed different camera feeds from across the facility, whilst to his right were some cubicles and one corner office with glazed glass, as well as a small kitchenette and a TV that appeared to be playing some kind of Marchander sporting event.
The seats were all empty, the consoles mostly displaying wallpapers of different kinds. It looked like the room had been cleared in a hurry, some kind of baked good with a meat filling half-empty on a plate nearest to Kroma.
Neeld edged past Kroma and the others and placed his hands on his head when he saw the room.
"This is not good. Should be at least three guys here, usually more. Hello?!" he called this last out louder, peeking into the corner office which was also empty...
Seraphiel's eyes darted towards Neeld, and she gave a quiet but very firm. "Shut up." Holding her hand to his mouth in a display of fast reflexes. She slowly lowered her hand from the mans mouth, and began moving towards the camera monitor. She began speaking, albiet quietly. Her voice projecting itself to the back of each of the groups head as she did so. As always with the strange Murifri. "Big guy, if you could cover that door, I'll check the monitors, Neeld please don't yell to our enemies, stay behind us." She moved over to the security station as she said she would. On her way gesturing Oscar down from the top of the staircase, along with the doctor if he hadn't entered just yet.
Kroma, glad to see Seraphiel's presence was with them now, nodded, turning to cover the entry as the rest of the crew funneled inside. He hadn't drawn his sword yet, but his lower hand was affixed to the pommel in case of any sudden movements.
"Entrance secured." He said plainly, happy to let the angel lead.
"Don't get too handsy there Ms. Wings'"
Kaveh said to Seraphiel as she pushed him out of the way to go follow behind Kroma. He kept in the third place with both of them when they came into the room. There was no one here, it was dead in the middle of what would of been a lunch break, god help someone who had to work some misery in a cubicle to look forward to lunch.
The doctor walked around the room and looked at a few various things and even picked up a piece of the food and gave it a quick sniff to see how old it was, who knows, if it was fresh it might give them some better news.
Kaveh looked over to Kroma and Seraphiel and whispered as he caught up to them.
"While you two are keeping yourselves busy to see who has the unfortunate job of door clearing, its best if we keep our eyes open. Some of that food still seemed a bit palatable, on the good side it means we aren't far behind. Or it could be bad news depending on how you spin it."
Oscar entered the room dead last, walking in after the rest of the group. Seemingly worried and at least a little frightened.
"I mean, it must have been the people who shot at the buss before who kidnapped everyone, perhaps they want a ransom? Or they could be holding this entire dam hostage... Neeld, do you know if there is anything that could be flooded if this place went down?
As Oscar said this he also wandered in the general direction of the security cameras.
Neeld scowled at Kroma and Seraphiel. "I am here to get my guys, if they are still here we should find them."
The doorway leading further into the facility was also ajar, showing another steep flight of concrete steps, but the lights were out to this flight. Night vision would reveal a set of double doors at the far end, whilst set into the floor halfway along the corridor was the entrance to the top of narrow a spiral metal staircase leading deeper into the facility.
He crossed over to one of the terminals and typed away for a moment, before glancing up at Kaveh with concern.
"The flow rate reports haven't been opened since three days..." he said, pointing at the screen. The alphabet was strange to the foreigners, but the layout of the system was simple enough - the top dozen files were all bolded, indicating they were unread.
As Oscar and Seraphiel approached the security monitors, it became clear something was wrong. Some of them displayed the interior of the facility, the feed unnaturally still with no signs of life. Others were dark, either turned off or night vision not active in a darkened room, whilst a couple displayed the exterior of the facility. On one their bus was visible, slowly gathering snow, whilst on the other it was not.
Another monitor showed what looked like a beach under a dark sky, large rocks and pebbles washed by a lethargic ink-black sea. Finally, and most disconcertingly, there was one watching the room they were in now. They could not see themselves in it.
Kroma squinted at Neeld from behind his warhelm, the unwelcome scowl from the Marchander sending his blood into a low boil. His training kept him from speaking on it, though he would remember the gesture once they returned to civilization.
From his position by the door, Kroma made one last check up the stairway before turning back to the group.
"So they weren't interested in information, not really a surprise. If anything, the location beneath the reservoir seems like its most valuable asset. Are there any other facilities like this one attached to the reservoir?"
Kaveh took a small bite out of the food before spitting it out onto the plate again after it turned out to be rather old. He walked over to see what Neeld was looking at, days upon days of missed files and messages were lost here. His eyes darted across the security monitors as they took on a subtle yellow hue from their prosthetic nature as Oscar and Seraphial approached them.
"Can we look at any other rooms in the compound?"
He remembered a similar trick a pair of safe robbers on Kessho Kairo he had to patch up told him about when they tried to break into a well to do suite of a visiting businessman. They hacked into the recording software to play back a loop of normal activity for themselves to go by unnoticed. In the back of his mind Kaveh kept this, there was nothing to prove it yet or spur on
Seraphiel leaned over the monitors giving them all a quick look over. Her eyes lingering on the one with the beach. She spoke as she began heading to the security camera that looked over this room. "I understand wanting to find your people, but we are up against an unknown threat, possibly Mergers from what the Ingen soldiers were saying. Take a look at those camera's, if anything you recognize is different say so."
Seraphiel from there would approach the security cam of the room to inspect it. Dragging over a table if need-be to get up to it. Doing a quick look over it to see if the camera itself was tampered with. And if she couldn't find anything on it, she would break it. Mainly to see if the security feeds would change or not.
"Wait a minute.... This is the room we are in and its a live feed."
Kaveh said to Seraphial as he paid some more attention to the video feed. He looked over at the angel and Neeld with a yellow tinge in his iris now.
"Hey Angel-wings. This is a trick some people I had to patch up pulled once, placed a looped tape into the security system so when they were.... entering a building.... wouldn't get caught. Reminds me of that."
“I mean, I figure the best way to figure out if it's a loop or not would be to slap the camera around, or uh… disabling the loop?- turning it on and off again? It would also be a good idea to turn the rest of the cameras on. But that's going to have to be someone else's doing, no tech classes at a magic school after all.”
While Oscar said this he started to prod at the camera monitor system with his staff, clearly not actually doing anything to help with the camera situation.
When Seraphiel broke the housing of the camera, the feed to one of the monitors cut to black. There was no obvious tampering with it, but the inside of the camera was faintly wet.
The others scanned the remaining feeds, but they could see nothing of interest, except one of the underwater cameras in the intake pipe which briefly flashed as though something had moved past it.
Neeld pointed to one display which showed a small kitchenette with a few tables around, some playing cards still across one.
"This is living quarters. Maybe we check there? We must go through surge chamber first."
He tapped another monitor, which was black with script on it in the local language. Even for those who could not read it and did not have a
translator, it was clear that the warning meant the camera was offline.
"Looks like problems in there."
Satisfied they weren't being followed inside, Kroma turned to inspect the viewing screen in question. No matter the theories, they had to sweep this place from top to bottom regardless. Kroma turned to Neeld and then to the rest of the group, before nodding and heading towards the surge chamber, rifle at the ready.
Oscar stopped poking at the computer, seeing that someone clearly needed his help. Halting his poking and prodding at the computer as Need helped him out with handling the computer, walking across the room to Kroma, and with him the door, getting relatively hopped up with the idea of actually murdering something with a combat spell.
“er, - Kroma. You should go first into that room, you have the most armour.”
Seraphiel at the good doctors comment glared over to Kaveh. Replying with just one word, her name. "Seraphiel." After breaking the camera, she unceremoniously dropped it to the ground. Moving to Kroma's side.
"I concur, Kroma you take point, I'll be right behind you to aid in battle. Oscar behind me, than you Neeld, than the doctor." She quickly moved into position either behind, or next to Kroma depending on the width of the area. Proceeding to the next room. She pressed a button on her 'staff.' A broad, arrow like tip igniting in a hue of brilliant purple energy. It essentially had the same qualities as super heated plasma in a contained field, but it was magical in nature.
"What are the surge chambers?"
Kaveh asked Neeld as he took up the rear of the group after Seraphial's retort. The cameras did indeed seem to still be working at least, just there was something fishy about them. The whole place seemed a bit uneasy, stuck inside a cliffside with a bunch of relative strangers in it for the money.
"At least I can be a bit creative in nicknames ey? It's no big deal."
The doctor made sure he had a round in the chamber of his carbine and followed into the next room
The group moved through the next corridor, cautiously passed the head of a spiral staircase and entered the pump chamber, the door creaking ajar slowly. It was dark, but they could tell they had entered a larger room, one that smelled strongly of lakewater and wet stone. The walls seemed as if they had recently been soaked, but there was no sound of rushing water or pumps working. Indeed from down below was an overwhelming silence. Neeld muttered under his breath.
"This is not good," he said, turning on a flashlight and leaning to peer down into the surge tank. It seemed empty, but then he gasped.
"Look, down there!" he cried, pointing to the sloped bottom of the tank where a dark figure lay sprawled on the concrete.
Kroma pulled Neeld back from the tank, holding up a finger in front of his helm to indicate desired quiet.
"Best not to shout."
The Echo carefully approached the tank, kneeling down next to the opening to peer over the edge. His vision easily pierced the darkness, inspecting the body at the bottom.
"Is there any access to that section on a lower level?"
Kaveh pushed forward up to where the Echotian was acting rather strange in this room and over to Neeld. He looked over to the bottom of the tank and say the clearly deceased figure lay.
"Well thats not pleasant. Kroma can you make sure I don't fall in?"
Kaveh took off his jacket and rolled up his slim fitting shirts sleeves and began to rummage around his medical bag for a pair of white rubber gloves that went up to his elbows. With what looked like a meathook in one hand and a headlamp on his head he got down on the floor to try and reach the corpse and fish it out.
"If we can figure out what the cause of death is, we can probably find out what happened to the rest of the facility... My current guess is drowning."
"By Etro's grace!" Seraphiel gave a dramatic sigh, and a small huff. "No one is going into the spooky, possibly evil water." While she didn't have darkvision, or a flashlight, Seraphiel's halo was an organic flashlight. In it's dimmest lighting being that like a high powered lantern. The Angelic woman stepped forward putting her hand on Kaveh, and pushing him back so she could be in the front of him. Her eyes glew a bright gold, and the Halo's light glowed bright enough to illuminate much of the room. Tendrils of golden light outstretched from her hand, she lifted the body up out of the water, and unceremoniously tossed it onto the ground letting the magic quickly die down, along with the light from her eyes, and halo. She dropped her hand to her side, and said flatly. "There, happy? You can prod at him now."
"Man, giving it a wild guess i think that he died from uh, death? Im not a doctor. although using the magic was, probably kinder to the dead than fishing him out. at least, i hope think dead- probably dead? most likely dead even? It would have been a bit strange to fish him out of the water and then figure out he's still kicking, just uh- passed out from inhaling a bunch of water?... We should try chest compressions! My first aide class told me that its always worth a shot!"
While this happened the poor mage was looking over the railing at the body-related-shenanigans, getting kinda jealous at this person with magic that did more than work in one overly specific scenario.
“Y’all acting like you have never seen a body before, and thanks for picking it up.” Kaveh walked over to pick up his bag and over to the body laying on the ground. While he was getting a pair of pliers and a small saw. “Trust me we’d know if he was dead.. I’ll reassure for good measure.”
The doctor turned on his light and tried to open up the closed eyes and to try and quickly find out what caused death
"...I've never seen a dead body before."
The mage said while looking at the hopefully dead body, getting very close to performing the most ancient method of seeing if it was dead or not, poking it with a stick.
The little Marchander was in a horrific state. Its face, groin and armpits had all been gnawed at by something, seemingly smallish, and it stank of bloat. The corpse was waterlogged, washed clean of blood, and there were no obvious wounds. It was dressed in the rags of a mechanic's jumpsuit. Kaveh's examinations would show that there was not much water in the lungs, suggesting the victim was dead before entering the water, though what the cause of death was remained unclear.
Neeld promptly vomited, muttering and moaning in distress. "What happened to him? Why did the others not help him?" he asked plaintively
Kroma stood, not wanting to be near the corpse as it was examined. His attention was focused on the environment around them, watching for signs of movement, listening for anything beyond their group.
"Perhaps this one was undone by his fellow workers. Perhaps this one was an example of things to come? It matters little, this one was killed, meaning their killer is probably still here. We should not linger here."
"You aren't a coroner Kroma, whatever did it is long gone and did this a few days ago most likely, the same probably happened with the rest of the crew. There is no way they simply left him away rotting here to be gnawed on by rats. I don't have enough time to do a full autopsy"
Kaveh tried to quickly pack up his medical equipment after quickly dousing them with a clear strong smelling alcohol to clean them from the rot. He stood back up and looked down on the dead marchlander and crossed both of its arms and did not seem to mind the frankly terrible smell.
"Shame it came to that, lets go."
"Oh- oh god. I knew he was dead lookin. But this is fucked up. I mean dear god it looks like someone munched on him. Are there zombies here? This sounds like zombies."
While Oscar was saying this he had to step over the body to get through the walkway, wrenching a little bit at the sight and smell. Casting a localized heat spell on his staff where it had touched the body.
After a moment the group would realise that Seraphiel's light had not just dimmed when she stepped back from raising the corpse, but had gone out entirely. Turning, they would find absolutely no trace of her whatsoever.
Neeld, who had been muttering a blessing over the corpse in his native language, stood as he realised the light had gone.
"Seraphiel? Hello? Hello?!" he called out, his voice somewhat frantic.
"Ha ha very funny Seraphiel. Come on out and we can get going, we're done here."
Kaveh put the pack back on his back and picked up his carbine and looked around the room a bit hopelessly. He looked over at Neeld and the others and seemed a bit concerned, he called out a bit louder for her and his eyes darted around the room with a bit of fear. This was not right.
"If this is because I said some dumb stuff earlier I apologize. This isn't funny now"
Kroma stifled an angry growl as he turned back to Neeld and Kaveh. His voice was low, meant only to be heard at a short distance.
"Silence, the both of you. Can you both hold yourselves together for five minutes? Seraphiel has probably gone ahead again, as before. We do not know who else is still here, and likely now aware of our location. Keep your voices down, or damn us to discovery."
The Echo pulled back, assuming his previous stature.
"Let us not keep the angel waiting. Neeld, can you contain yourself long enough to get us to the lower levels?"
“I mean, perhaps they just- left? Not wanting to deal with… this. I mean, far as i knew we were signed up for a couple of yahoos with rifles, and perhaps some mild terrorists, not- zombies?"
"At this rate, it doesn't seem like such a bad idea. Though I'd hate to imagine what might my superiors might think should one of you end up at the bottom of a resivoir."
Kroma half chuckled, though he kept his comment directed moslty at Oscar.
Neeld turned to look Kroma up and down.
"You know what, domov? No. I'm done, screw you!"
He hucked his ID card at Kroma then turned to leave, heading back up the corridor, muttering as he went.
"Not paid enough, no no,""
As his footsteps receeded, the remaining team members would hear a scream from further down below...
"...I- I-m going to go check with him. Don't know about the rest of you but I came here to get paid and without Neeld I ain't."
Kaveh had a startled look on his face like he had just seen a ghost, he was very concerned as to what happened to Seraphiel and now that scream. There was absolutely no reason to stick around any longer in this.... Place... Especially given the history of combat and death on this planet with those Yokari sticking around.
"If either of you two are so inclined. I'm going back to the bus. I hope to see both of you there."
The good doctor turned around and followed Neeld up to the surface and out of this subterranean hell.
Kroma snatched the ID card out of the air, his anger at the situation momentarily snuffed by the sounds of screams from below. Someone was alive down there and they were so close. To hell with his pay, he couldn't walk away now.
The Echo turned to Oscar as he moved towards the staircase at the far end of the surge chamber.
"This is your chance to get out of this alive. Feel free to choose your path from here on out."
Without checking to see if the others would follow, Kroma began descending the spiral staircase to the lower level.
Oscar looked at the night, the body, and then the people who made the smart decision and left. Oscar knew that he would never get over himself if he let someone die, especially when someone else was more than willing to go ahead and walk down the staircase first. In oscars mind this was no longer simply about getting into the good school or getting paid, this was about not letting anyone die alone, down there, Like that.
So Oscar, the cowardly dog mage followed the knight down the stairs, and into darkness.
Kroma and Oscar headed down the metallic spiral staircase, their footsteps ringing loudly in the quiet despite their attempts at stealth. The lower corridor seemed well lit, but even as they reached the bottom the lights went out, leaving only dim yellow emergency lights along the floor.
To their left was a large doorway that led to the residential quarters, whilst to the right the corridor led along to the cell store elevator. Below them, the staircase continued downwards into the lower bowels of the facility.
Whilst they were looking, they would notice a dark figure between them and the residential area. There was a foul stench, like something that had been submerged for a month and then dredged up, and they felt rather than heard a great rage and hate.
The figure surged forwards, revealing a bizarre and inhuman form, thrashing pincers and gnashing teeth barely visible in the darkness, reaching for Kroma and Oscar
To the others above, this was visible on the security feed. They also heard engines outside, barely audible over the wind
Oscar saw that thing and responded in the most human way, with fire. A wave of his special brand of thermal energy around the side from kroma, starting at his staff and expanding in a cone down the hallway. That appeared like a flamethrower to the outside observer as it caused air to combust. A much stronger mage would have been able to skip the “combustion” step and turned the air directly into plasma.
Oscar's superconductive staff glowed cherry red from the casting, his gloves saving him from fast, horrible burns. But Oscar knew, if he got a second chance to make a cast he would have to do something cold, to cool the staff down and allow for more hot spells.
Kroma sneered as the creature advanced towards them, bringin up his rifle to join Oscars flame as he fired at nearly point blank range. His secondary limbs readied his blade, content to finish the abomination in close quarters should it withstand the high caliber rounds. He moved to block the beasts path even as the last of the flames relented, barring it from passing to devour the mage.
Back into the relative safety of the security desk with Neeld, Kaveh looked at monitors as they displayed their grainy video feed of the horror below. He looked over at the frightened Neeld in a bit of shock and clenched onto his rifle and almost seemed like he wanted to raise it at the marchlander.
"What the hell is that! What did you drag us into!"
Kaveh was angry, he hoped that Oscar and Kroma and made the wise choice and ran and tried to rummage around to find an intercom system in the security desk to call for them to run. The bus was still here, they could still escape.
The beast caught fire with a hideous scream, it's form twitching as the rounds pounded into it, but the huge mass of flesh and chitin ploughed onwards uncontrollably, a huge weight thundering towards the two of them.
Above, Neeld slapped the desk angrily and gestured at Kaveh. "Everything here fine till you offworlders came!"
They found an intercom system on the console below the cameras
Kroma's instincts told him to fight, but his training crushed the feelings down in the face of such a foe. This was not the place to fight such a beast, they would need the upper hand.
"Forgive me wizard."
Lightning face movements brought Kroma away from the creature, scooping up Oscar with his secondary arms as he made for the stairs. He fired off several more rounds into the monsters face before ascending the flight. Perhaps it could not follow them in such a confined space, or at least he hoped it would be slowed.
"If you have any way to slow this thing, we could use some ice right about now"
The mage's staff went from cherry red to cryogenically cold, Oscar knew he had the mana for at most two more big ones, or a bunch of smaller spells. But with one target and the exit right there the poor, panicked mage was going big, and going home.
The temperature of the hallway went down to somewhat deep in the negatives, as the water in the air turned into snowflakes, and a coat of very, very cold formed on the stairs behind the duo. It would most certainly put the flame on the creature out, but the extent of it was largely limited to the stairs. Oscar knew the ice and cold would not help much, but the heat capacity in his staff would allow for a larger followup spell.
"What was it that they brought here!"
Kaveh moved quickly to the door out and blocked the path from Neeld potentially trying to escape. He needed answers now, this was way over their heads and what they expected, nothing here was right now and it would never be right again. Not with those things running around.
"Now I need some answers now.... Do you have a way to call back the Admin building?"
He was acting antsy with his rifle with his eyes darting around and shivering a bit, it was fear.
The burning ruin of the creature, mangled by flame and bullets, tumbled past the foot of the stairs, sliding on the ice Oscar had made. As it passed they caught a foul stench, a stench of rotting things dredged up from the deeps that were never meant to see the light of day. It was hard to make out details, but there was a clear and disgusting mismatch of tentacles, soft fleshy parts, chitin, jaws, claws and other bizarre elements all tangled together to create a being unlike anything any of them had seen before.
Even as they watched, the corpse began to twitch, moving inch-by-inch towards the inlet of the surge chamber that lay ahead. In the other direction, the door to the Residential area now stood open
--
Above them, in the Security room, Neeld loosed a stream of invectives at Kaveh, before switching to Common.
"You people! No Cult before offworlders came, no rumours or horrors or crazies in robes! Every bomb you drop just makes more!"
He sighed. "Yes we can call, desk over there."
"Right, right! Call your boss and let them know what happened. We did our job and we know what happened here, this place is fucked."
Kaveh scurried over to the desk phone and tried to find what looked like the building intercomm system and over to the CITV screens showing the horror below. What was it that the Jade Empire, Gauss, Pords, and those Unioners did here to bring this horror upon the world. He wanted to try and find out what the bigger problem was, but now trying to prevent everyone from getting turned to shreds by that thing was.
They would not be able to fully fight back.
He picked up the intercomm by the security desk and looked to turn it on and spoke into it, hopefully it still was able to broadcast throughout the complex.
"Oscar! Kroma! Get your asses out of there! This entire place is fucked, we did our job and we need to leave. NOW!"
Kroma scowled at the corpse, his nostrils flaring behind his helm as the stench filtered inside. The Echo snorted, attempting to clear his sinuses as the voice of Kaveh echoed over the intercom. He watched for a moment more before turning to Oscar.
"I am no fan of retreat, but perhaps we should reconvene with the others to decide what our next step will be."
Kroma started back up the stairs, but stopped a few meters up to ensure Oscar was following.
"You did well back there. Glad I could count on you."
Oscar spoke while following the knight up the staircase, unwinded due to being carried.
Y-yeah, let's get out of here. I can probably fuse the door into this place shut, and hope there's not another. Although, there is probably still someone alive down there, so we should inform the local military to clear the place out. Or turn this place into a crater.
The mage was holding his “absurdly cold” staff in his right glove, holding it away from the rest of himself, knowing that skin contact with it was a very bad idea.
As Kaveh watched, to his horror, he saw movement in the surge chamber. Water was churning in it, sprays of foam occasionally dancing up over the lip as the water level slowly rose. Even as Oscar and Kroma reached the top of the circular stairs that opened into one corner of the surge chamber, they realised that they were not alone. They could see more disgusting shapes slithering out of the sinkhole in the centre of the room...
"Neeld, what did I say before. Get on that phone and call your boss, this is way way over our heads now."
He peeked his head out of the security room and looked down the staircase into to the surge chamber and saw movement, it was starting to fill up a quickly and soon the entire compound would be flooded. Dealing with water and drowning injuries when its frigidly cold outside is not exactly a fun thing to deal with, especially with those monsters below.
Kaveh shouldered his carbine as he looked down and shouted out, hopefully to Kroma and Oscar.
"Hurry up!"
Kroma's eyes widened as his vision caught sight of the surrounding movement, his mind forgetting about anything other than survival.
His battle cry faltered as he cursed loudly, grabbing Oscar out of habit and sprinting out of the room. Controlled breathing became heavy as Kroma's O'ren surged into his limbs, sending a burst of speed that would have been impossible to another in as much armour as the Echotian warrior.
Within seconds, the panting Echo stopped inside the security room, whipping around to face the doorway; drawing his rifle as he knelt to catch his breath.
After being saved again by Kroma Oscar had a simple solution to this entire problem of water and an open door. Slamming the thing, and starting to weld it shut with a extremely short range, extremely strong heat beam type spell. Distinctly not out of breath, given the free ride Oscar had gotten so far.
Something hideous snatched at Kroma as they sprinted past, but failed to stop him. Tumbling through, they could hear inhuman blubbering and squealing beyond, the chittering of something not used to speaking in the open air. Oscar's quick reactions sealed the door just in time, the metal hissing and cooling almost as rapidly in the damp subterranean air just as something huge threw its bulk against it from the far side.
Neeld came up beside Kaveh and then yelped in realisation. There was another staircase leading from the lower levels, its entrance lying smack dab in the middle of the corridor between the security room and the surge chamber. As Oscar and Kroma worked to secure the door, Neeld dodged past Kaveh and stared down the spiral staircase, then recoiled, looking at his hand in terror. Visible to all, the metal railing was shaking. Something was coming up.
"Holy..."
Kaveh paused for a moment, to him it seemed like life flashed before his eyes and his heart was racing at the sudden closeness that whatever that beast was rushing towards the door. He looked over at Neeld, Kroma, and Oscar who just got backed and yelled over to them.
"What the hell are you waiting for! Lets get out of here!"
The staircase shuttered and Neeld screamed away in terror. Kaveh tried to pull him up and lead him away to bring him out of the state of shock and towards the long staircase they descended to get here in the first place.
"..Shit"
"Seconded!"
Kroma lurched towards the staircase, prepping a fresh magazine into his rifle before turning it to the rising creature below. As the weapon roared, Kroma looked to the others, his helm betraying nothing, but his voice firm and commanding.
"Get to the transport! Ill keep your asses covered as long as I can!"
The Echotian backed away from the hole, back to the exit. His armour was slick with slime and decay, ruddying the alabaster armour and slicking the fur collar with grime. A feral snarl birthed itself from his vox, churning into a roar as he challenged the beast below.
"Come then! Shal'kes Vekkan!"
“Man, fucking run i don't think you are winning that fight- Let's get out and seal the door.”
The mage said this, while running. Leaving the brave knight to commit a needless self sacrifice, stumbling up the stairs with the lukewarm staff in hand.
Kroma's gunfire felt like it was having great effect and no effect all at once. The rounds punched into the darkness with the crunching, thudding sound of ammo hitting flesh and bone, and there were screeches and the sickly wet sound of gore being slapped against the walls, but the dark tide of horror kept coming. Occasionally Kroma caught what he thought were glimpses of mammalian physiology in among the chaos.
As the party fell back through the facility, Neeld began to yelp frantically. As they reached the first room, the security room, he collapsed and began twitching and jerking awkwardly.
"Help! I can't swim!" he yelled out in Marchander, frantic, as his fur began to rise as if in water. His eyes rolled back in his head and his veins began to swell, as a strangle cracking noise began. Oscar would recognize, almost smell the magic in the air, whilst Kaveh realized the cracking was bones breaking and shifting...
"I a-agree!"
The doctor began to run out of the security room in abject terror of the beast that was following them, he snuck a look backwards at it. It was no monster or a singular real entity, but simply a mass of absolute gore, Kaveh tried to keep back vomit. He had seen some nasty and frankly disgusting sights on Kesho Kairo and tried to put some of them back together, but nothing like this ever before.
It was repulsive.
The screams of Neeld caught Kaveh's ear and he tried to run back and try to help him. It was too late, that was the sound of bones falling in on themselves, a body changing... Neeld was becoming one of them. Kaveh pulled up his short rifle and kept it pointed at the quickly turning Marchlander while quickly walking backwards and then into a full on sprint out of the room and to the stairs.
The mage got up the stairs right as the man started to …change. Before that Oscar figured he would have been able to soak up some of the mana using his hat. And even now he might have been able to do something about it, but honestly Oscar was scared, and trigger happy by this point.
It looked like a welding cone, bright white at the start with a lot of blue further out. It was focused, quick, and hopefully a fast end for Neeld. Even if Oscar was not focused on that, and ran through the room following the … good doctor, still seeing where the white of the flame was even as it was gone. not bothering to look at the result of the torch.
Kroma took several steps back as the monstrosity emerged from the hole, turning to bolt after the others once they had reached a safe distance. His HUD flashed with white light as Oscar bathed Neeld's body in flame; the Echotian moving at a break-neck speed towards them. Clawed boots hammered rapidly towards them, taking a few more pot-shots at Neeld before the rifle clicked empty. His lower hand had already prepped a fresh magazine as the old one fell free, readying himself for another push as he waited for the others to press onward.
Through the breach once Seraphiel had returned reborn. A fight, and a glorious one her previous self would never have had overcome. Fighting her way out of the surge chamber, and breaking down Oscars welded door with a acute magical explosion the equivalent of a breaching charge. The Crimson Queen came like a rocket of golden light from the breach of darkness coming slowly towards Kroma. Slashing where she could with her blade, and tucking her wings. Sliding along the ground on her feet, rotating and shooting what essentially was a mortar shell of a brilliant golden white explosion of magic. Their former companion draped in the same clothes albeit ripped, and tattered from her fighting, her white feathered wings now draped in crimson red. Her spear and bow combo staff was gone replaced by a two handed longsword, and atop her head was a crown that looked like twisted branches intertwined, but made of solid gold. Her golden eyes looked over to Kroma a small bloody smirk on her face. "You shall fall back, a warriors death does not await you this day. I shall hold them off, and return to you."
"Took you long enough!" Kroma half-laughed as he roared out to Seraphiel, "I'll ensure the others get outta here safely, you torch these sons of bitches!"
The Echo was relieved to have the angel return; in spite of her bold nature, there was something about having a powerful being as an ally that really boosted moral. Even as the Echo moved towards the exit, herding the others while taking more shots back towards the incoming masses, he was setting forth a challenge for Seraphiel.
"Show these Ve'Kask whatre youre made of!"
Neeld uttered an otherworldly shriek as he was bathed in flame. He began to twist and flail, strange and disturbing shadows dancing in the light cast by Oscar's flame, before Kroma's last few shots put a permanent end to his torment.
Further down, the ground began to shake. The roiling mass of horror continued towards them, and the moment it breached the doors to the security room, the lights went out as disturbing forms poured in all directions from the ruined doors, overrunning the room in a matter of moments.
Outside, Kaveh was the first to emerge into the cold darkness, night having fully set. A flickering light illuminated the parking lot, whilst off to one side sat the two speeder bikes they had encountered what seemed like a lifetime ago. The marines were stood uncertainly, one placing a call whilst the other held his gunspear at the ready, as if expecting something to emerge from the facility.
The glittering vitredur blade swung up at Kaveh as he staggered outside, but was dropped as the soldier recognised him from the bus earlier. Not coming closer, he called out to Kaveh.
"What's going on in there?!"
As he sprinted out atlast towards the bus from out of that hellhole of a dam facility Kaveh breathed a slight sigh of relieg. He could of sworn he saw Seraphiel out of the corner of his eyes while rushing up the stairs in a scenario way out of his league, he was a doctor and entrepreneur looking for some easy money... Not whatever this thing turned into now.
He did not wait for the others now to get back to the bus, but they would hopefully follow soon enough. The Jade soldiers suprirsed him and brought him to a panicked halt in the snow, Kaveh thought they had long since vanished into the cold night out from the bus.
"There's a damn monster down there... Everything... Everything is alive and full of teeth."
Kroma nodded to the Seraphiel, acknowledging the situation was that of containment, turned to keep his attention on escorting the rest of the group. He ascended the stairs, keeping Oscar from falling behind as they left Seraphiel to do what she did best. As he neared the top, the sound of Kaveh speaking pushed him to reach the exit. As he appeared in the entrance to the facility, Kroma cleared his throat, resulting in a series of clicking noises as his vocal chords shook. His eyes linegred on the weapon in the soliders hands, and his voice emerged as a warning of crackling fire.
"You best be putting that weapon away, Vek'ka. Wouldn't want to get yourself hurt. The dead tend to not stay that way for too long around here."
As oscar got out of the building, holding the glowing white staff of power, while also not being entirely surprised to see the soldiers standing about it was still a bit of a shock.
“No, you really should not put it away. After the next person to get out, a shoot on sight policy would not be… entirely unreasonable.
As the mage said this oscar waved the white hot stick of metal around, just a little. Swishing it through the snow to cool it down while creating clouds of steam.
Seraphiel, the Queen in Red took one step back, her hand outstretching again and from it a white bead, that on contacted exploded in a brilliant white explosion roughly the power of a mortar shell. Again, and again she kept this up to hold them off. Her blade glowing a bright brilliant light. Once Seraphiel got to the door she outstretched her hand, and shot one final spell, before booking it. A small magical white orb that hit the back wall of the room, and stuck to it. Flashing, and slowly flashing faster, and faster. By the time Seraphiel running as fast as she could with a mix of her own magic, and her organic adrenaline glands that usually kicked in when flying would break through the exit.
The spell was one of Seraphiel's most powerful, in her previous state she'd have been in no condition to fling it, but now the story was different. The spell was an explosion, with essentially the magnitude of a high powered artillery blast. The Murifri with red wings broke out with a soft gasp of air. Stumbling, and looking up to the Jade soldiers. She grew a small smirk at seeing them both, and said between labored breaths. "I'd recommend calling in more men, along with any magic, and psionic experts you can. Set up a quarantine, maybe..." She sighed, and stood up fully. Stretching out her wings for the first time since she went down with a soft groan.
The staircase from the security room up to the entrance detonated loudly, spewing smoke and debris out of the entrance in a billowing cloud of heat and wreckage. The tunnel partially collapsed, rubble filling their view down through the ruined doors, whilst one of the floodlights above flickered before losing power, dimming the scene outside as Seraphiel stumbled out of the chaos she had just created with her powerful spell.
"Godsnovshdamnit," cursed Sergeant Hulegugin in a mix of common and east wusian. "Marine, call it in, Merger."
He stepped closer to Kaveh and, one hand still on the rifle, tugged out a small gemstone disc inlaid with a platinum dragon icon. It was clearly a religious symbol, normally worn on a chain around the neck but instead tucked into his bracer for safekeeping. He waved it vaguely at Kaveh, the light from the entrance glinting off it faintly. When Kaveh did nothing except look bemused, he nodded and repeated the process with each of the newcomers, pausing only to tell Kroma to shut up unless he wanted to spend time in an IJN brig. When none of them reacted to the platinum icon, he tucked it back into his bracer and shouldered his gunspear.
"Ok, you're clear. Get away from the doors. This whole place is infested, it's a good thing you made it out of that pit."
Marine Ulbatai broke in in east wusian, yelling to be heard over the storm, a long string of monosyllabic speech that ended with a finger pointed at the bus behind them.
"Oh, right...didn't you have a driver last time we saw you?"
In the distance, they could already see bright lights moving in the sky, even though the screaming wind made it hard to hear them
Kroma smiled at the threat, glad someone around here finally had a spine.
"Unfortunately, I'm dissatisfied to report his body was turned inside out, corrupted by the area, before it was destroyed."
The Echo did not shy away from this, stating it as a matter-of-fact. He had been fed up with the Marchander's constant screeching; if it hadn't affected their bottom line, he might've even been relieved.
"If it would serve any use, I can have a copy sent to your superiors for review?"
Kaveh followed along as the soldiers ordered, not exactly wanting to spend what was left in the night forgotten away in a jail cell and let them do their small religious rite on him. Merger, he'd heard that name before. From one of the locals on his ride up here, likely the outsiders Neeld was talking about before he died.
"What the fuck is wrong with you Kroma, do you even have a soul! Don't you see that Neeld just got eaten up by that Thing?! We sure as hell aren't getting paid for this shit now. Fuck!"
Kaveh lead off on a panic and anger fueled bout of profanaties directed at the Echo after they cleared the entrance to the cavern and he put his bag inside the bus after opening up the doors. He held onto his carbine, just in case. They no longer had their driver, or the person they needed to keep alive in the first place to even get paid for heading out into the ass end of nowhere and putting their neck on the line. However there was a deep gut feeling inside of him that this would not end here.
Oscar had a plan, and it had 4 simple steps! The first was to use the hot staff to create a cloud of steam to vanish behind! And the second was to vanish behind it!
Oscar kept cooling the hot rod of superconductor down as he walked in the direction of the bus, not wanting to get involved with the two less it be mentioned who exactly lit Neeld on fire. As he went to the door, he looked at the empty driver's seat, and thought pragmatically.
“So, does anyone have a driver's licence? I've always wanted to try but there were no vehicles like this where I'm from.”
As he said this he continued cooling the staff down in the snow, not wanting to get on the bus and then have to get off once it was on fire.
Kroma turned his head to look at Kaveh, peering down at him as the Echo was berated with curses.
"We all watched him die, Kaveh, to pretend otherwise would be foolish. We will own our failures as well as our successes."
The Echo gave a short series of clicks, clearing his throat before turning back to the soldiers.
Seraphiel let out one long drawn out sigh. The battered woman saying softly, but still utterly sternly. "Stop your endless bickering. Neeld was a bumbling fool who jeopardized our mission more than once. If he were under my command his fate would not be all that different. Now, I will see you all back at the city." Seraphiel turned her head to face the two soldiers, and spoke firmly. "Is there anything else you require of me?"
Overhead, IJN gunships and shuttles appeared out of the snow. One set down in the parking lot and marines poured out, followed by a handful of men and women in civilian clothes whilst, far below, they could see the headlights of ground vehicles winding their way up the mountainside. One of the newly-arrived soldiers crossed over, prompting a salute from the two with the mercenaries.
"At ease soldiers. Have you tested them?" the woman said in clipped tones - though she shared their accent, it was far less pronounced. The sergeant nodded. "Yes sir. They're clean."
The officer slid back her faceplate to reveal a broad face with pronounced cheekbones, almond shaped eyes and a piercing expression.
"Major Sorocan, 2/203rd.You're the mercenaries the CPA hired? Whatever they offered you, I doubt it was enough. You're lucky to be alive."
She turned to stare back at the ruined facility, squinting against the bitter wind. "If it wasn't for you this infestation could have grown out of hand. If you want to take that bus back to Chelez I'll have a drone track you until you're safely back in town. And if you have any trouble with the local rats, drop my name."
With that she nodded curtly to the mercenaries then turned on her heel, bellowing orders...
Kroma acknowledged the woman, before looking at Oscar, thankful to see that the little man had gotten out alive and mostly unscathed. Even when the situation looked most grim, the mage had stood by his side. It was an odd feeling; he wasn't often surprised by the capabilities of the meek, but perhaps he judged the magic-user a bit too harshly.
The Echo approached the bus, but stopped to ensure everyone else was ready to leave.
Kaveh did not say another word to Kroma or Seraphiel, he put his rifle down and away before he got back onto the bus. He was very disturbed by what he saw here today, and frankly just a bit more by his so called "colleagues" and their absolute disregard for life and the fact they needed to keep their handler alive to get paid in the first place. At the back of the bus he sat, away from the others and frankly planned on heading to the city after they got back, there will be more than enough people looking for doctors there.
A better shot at being helpful than this crapshoot.
Oscar got into the bus, fumbling with the keys before getting it started. Knowing the local angel would fly to the town, Oscar just got it moving at 30ish MPH down the snowy road.
“You know, Kaveh. Im very sorry that neeld had to die- especially that way. Seraphiel might have been able to save him, but between me and kroma well. You know what happened down there. It's strange that the army was not there first off.”
The ride back to town was surprisingly uneventful, although several times they saw IJN craft roaring overhead, their lights just visible through the gloomy blizzard, and once they passed a pair of wheeled vehicles trundling uphill.
Eventually they made it back to Chelez, where the offices of Director Whissel were closed, but even as they tried the door and began to wonder what to do next the rumble of tires through snow heralded her arrival in an ancient combustion-engine vehicle stained with rust. Bundled in a thick overcoat, she pushed past them to unlock the door and let them into the lobby, but no further.
"I heard what happened. Neeld was one of my best workers and you got him killed, you're lucky I'm giving you a damn cent! The bloody goblins leaned on me, said not to stiff you, so here you are."
She fumbled in her coat pockets and pulled out a binder, in which were several small prepaid chipcards. She handed one to each of the mercenaries.
"Those each contain your agreed fee of three hundred yen, plus a hazard bonus of three hundred extra. Now get out of my office." she snapped.
Kroma bowed respectfully, understanding that death would not he undone by shallow apologies. He decided it was best to let the past stay in the past, and look forward instead, to reporting his pyrrhic success to his superiors, but not before delivering his contact information to Oscar.
Seraphiel took her credit chip, glaring at the woman, then her golden eyes turning to Kroma. She spoke sternly as was her custom, but her tone softer than usual. The angelic woman battered with bruises, cuts, torn clothing, and her wings feathers ruffled. She had spent her time waiting for both the bus, and the lady by starting on her wings gently plucking her wings, and grooming them. But stopped shortly after their arrival.
"Kroma, I have use of you. I have a new conquest layed out before me, you will be well compensated if you join me. But I must get back to my companion, join me if you so wish."
She began walking, not flying as she learned from her flight here that it was not a pleasant experience. She would walk back to her vessel, holding her sword by the edgeless part of it's blade.
The bus ride back to Chelez was long and miserable for Kaveh, he did not really talk that much or at all really on the bus. Once they arrived back at the city Kaveh got off the bus last and headed up to the lobby with his coat bundled up around him, he felt upset that they managed to mess it up so much... Granted it likely would of ended worse any other way.
"We tried to do everything we could. I'm sorry."
He said to Whissel with a sincere sound of defeat, what he saw back there changed him, knowing what existed not even a few hours away can and will easily kill them all. Kaveh took his check and walked away and looked up and down Kroma and Seraphiel.
"Both of you are so full of youselves, you are above nothing."
With no further words the far flung doctor fully buttoned up his coat and gloves and headed out into the storm down the road.
The mage apologized to the man over Neelds death, explaining what had happened and why he could not be saved. Taking kromas contact details and asking for the recording of the encounter on his way out of town- hoping to submit the recording for his application to a school to become a real combat mage.
Dr Kaveh - Kepler (Atriangle)
Kroma - Echotians (Salt)
Oscar - Kelvinist Wizard (Dr Coomer)
Seraphiel - Murifri (AngelWiings)
CHELEZ, NORTHERN MARCHAND
North of the Hornqvist Mountain range lay a small town named Chelez. Unremarkable and windswept, with high snow drifts, it was dominated by the three-storey offices of the Foothills Regional Hydroelectrical Administration. This building still bore some of the logos and signage of the Chelez Hydrocorp, from whom the buildings had been 'purchased' by the new Coalition Provisional Authority several months prior. Most of the building was underground, but the mercenaries found themselves in a lobby with thick windows of worn glass. Potted ferns decorated the shabby room, whilst the blue-and-white tricolour with the black anchor of the CPA hung limply from the door on what may have been an old coatrack.
The furniture was slightly too small for most of the visitors. After what seemed like a lifetime, they were ushered into an office in which a weary-looking Marchander waited behind a desk on which a plaque proclaimed her to be Director Whissel. Her rodent-like, mammalian face was neatly combed and her shirt seemed smart, but she was wearing a battered windbreaker as the office a little chilly. The wind battered at the windows as she waited for the mercenaries to sit.
"I am Director Whissel. You are here to help us with our pumping station, just so," she began without much ceremony, her voice accented with the laconic and heavy tones of a Marchander. "You read the packets yes? Four days ago Pumping Station 13 stopped responding to radio. The crew detailed for the next shift tried to head out two days ago but someone shot at them from the hills. We need you to go find out what has happened, clear any problems, and make the station safe for our workers to go back. We are paying in Jade Yen, 300 per head per day for two days with a 1,000 bonus if you get shot at. 15,000 to your estate if you die. Any questions?"
Kroma took the chance when he had it, shifting in his white armour to lean in closer to the other mercenaries. His demeanour was professional, but still held that bright spark of youth, and the voice that came forth from his warhelm was like chambered magma, boiling up through the macrys.
"Did the surviving crew discern anything about them before retreating? Did they mention numbers, or even the nature of the weapons that fired upon them?"
Whissel raised an eyebrow, her expression caustic.
"Pfft. Those roughnecks turned around the moment their windscreen got cracked. The damage suggests a gunpowder firearm, not unusual here in the sticks. They didn't even see who shot at them, and the dashcam didn't pick anything up either."
Poor little Oscar spoke up on hearing talk of being shot at, wearing a heavy coat and even heavier gloves.
“Well, powder guns might be a little primitive, but i'm pretty sure someone with one would still kill the most of us that are standing here. And getting shot at by someone we can see sounds, well. scary.”
Kroma nodded to Whissel's reply, almost disappointing to hear of the apparent lack of useful weaponry on the end of the occupying forces. Though he refrained for mentioning aloud, he assumed the sound of the gunfire ricocheting off of his plating would be more of a nuisance than the bullets themselves.
"Worry not, Sot'ka. You can leave the getting shot at to me."
Standing at the rear of the group but standing out regardless wherever she went. Standing at 5'8", with golden blonde hair, along with a floating golden halo, and glowing golden eyes. Her skin was pale, with a lean and curvy form. Two long pointed ears on her head. A slash of red war-paint across her face. From her forehead down through her nose ending on her cheek by her mouth. She was holding what looked like just a 6 foot tall black metal stick but the various buttons along where she was gripping it eluded to much more. The most striking thing save for the halo shining like a bright lantern in the room was her choice of clothing. Not being particularly effected by the cold she opted to not bring any sort of cold weather gear. What her natural resistances couldn't hold up to, she had her magic for. She was wearing a very loose silky white top that looked like it was meant for the desert. Stopping about halfway down her ribs. The looseness probably to make it easier to get it on with the two giant white feathered wings on her back. Each being about a foot taller than her, and if unfolded about double her height in length for each wing. Her bottom was a similar garb. A very loose fitting silky white sash that on her left side was only about to her hip, and on her right down to a few inches above the knee. She said nothing, neither did she sit. Holding her metal stick with both hands, and waiting. Both her shoulder-blade length hair, and her clothing seemed to wave in the wind like a gentle breeze was blowing them around. Something caused by the halo she had no control over. When she finally did speak her voice was gentle, but simultaneously powerful and commanding. Seeming to echo as if a second voice was speaking behind the ears, or in the mind. Yet another byproduct of the magical siphon that was her halo.
"If we are quite done bantering, can we begin the job?"
Kroma turned to look at the angelic figure, sizing up yet another staff-wielder; undoubtedly another mana-based warrior. Already more than he was comfortable with normally, but he wasn't going to be put off that easily.
"I like your initiative, but perhaps we should be more proactive in our approach?"
The large figure of the Echo turned back to Director Whissel,
"How far is this Station 13 from here? Will we be responsible for arranging our own transport there and back, or are there assets at our disposal?"
A little later than the others, and a slight bit lost, came in Dr. Halthet with a fur coat tightly pulled over his body and a backpack filled with his own personal equipment. He looked around the room as he tried to enter without causing too much of a disturbance from his tardiness and looked at the others, an ever so common marchlander, one of those Echotians he heard about, a winged figure, and a funny little man in a large hat.
He spoke up after everyone else finished talking.
"Sorry if I'm a little late. My name is Dr. Kaveh Halthet, the truck I paid to bring me here dropped me off at the edge of town, had to walk the rest of the way... Did I miss much?"
Well, no. i don't think you missed much. General gist of it from what I hear from the person who should be telling you this is that some native ruffians have taken over a radio station and shot at the people sent out there to turn it back on. No ones died, but knowing my luck I might be the first.
While the funny man spoke he gestured with his frost covered staff that had a weird copper with a black spotted pattern.
Whissel was not surprised at Dr Halthet's misfortune - if a Marchander spotted an opportunity to drop his passenger off a few blocks early and shave 5 minutes off his own trip home, he would.
She nodded. "Transport to the site is difficult. We have a glacier bus ready to go - it will be driven by our regional head of site maintenance, Key Neeld, who will go with you to the site. Needless to say if Mr Neeld dies or is incapacitated you lose any bonus pay."
She slid over a manila file folder with some maps and other papers inside. "There were twenty-three staff on-site, we would also appreciate if you could account for them but this is secondary to securing the site and helping Mr Neeld to get it running again for us to send a fresh crew."
She stood and crossed to the window, gesturing to a yard below where a large blue and yellow bus with outsized, rugged wheels waited. "If you are ready, my assistant will show you down."
Seraphiel stepped forward and took the document. Popping it open, as she started walking down to where the bus was. Looking over the maps, and skimming through the papers while speaking. Her voice like before heard twice. Once normally, and a second time simultaneously in the back of their minds.
"I will scout ahead, and get a feel for our quarry. Once you arrive I will rendezvous, and we shall begin."
She was curt, and walked out towards the door. In a quick assement, or possible even a assumption she gently shoved the folder of maps, and papers into Halthet's hands. Assuming the guy with doctor in his name was the most capable to look over them. Second only to herself of course! She walked right outside, and towards the bus. Not waiting up for the rest, and opting to head out into the field where the bus was to get a good area for takeoff.
Kroma nodded, clapping his two upper hands while pushing himself up out of the chair with his lower set. His sword dangled at his hip now, swaying slightly, a clear reminder of the Echotian devotion to close quarters.
"I am satisfied then, if the rest of you are ready to depart. My name is Kroma'Vol, by the way, but you can just call me Kroma."
His attention was mainly focused on the Doctor, but Oscar could feel Kroma's gaze meet his as well.
"We shouldn't give our flighty companion too much of a head start, weather willing, I would like to avoid any worsening conditions."
With a slight bit of disgruntlement Halthet took the manila folder and read through it while walking down and into the snow with the other three. He looked up after Seraphiel darted away and back to Kroma and his well armed and armored appearance.
"Nice to meet you Kroma, yeah we should get going.... Whats her deal?"
He got onto the yellow bus and sat near the front and put his bag of equipment on the floor infront of him and began to read through the folder with an open seat next to him.
The bus was old but well-made, the leather seats worn and soft but comfortable. There were seatbelts, and the seats themselves were a little small for the foreigners, but with the entire bus for just themselves they had space to stretch out.
The bus was already running when they boarded, but it was not until nearly ten minutes after they had settled down that their driver appeared. Old, perhaps late middle aged, with greying fur around his muzzle and a thick overcoat, he stamped onto the bus, shutting the doors and settling into the driver's seat.
"Hello, I am Neeld," he announced as he worked the cumbersome controls. "We go to Station 13, take a look, yes?"
There was a rumbling and they were off, the heavy vehicle growling as it rolled out of the yard and onto one of the main roads of Chelez, a two-lane street covered in snowdrifts. There were few people on the streets, most of them using the underground tunnels to get around, and it was only a few minutes before they passed the last few dilapidated buildings on the outskirts of town and headed up a low incline, moving south towards the sprawling and imposing mountains. Caused by volcanic activity thousands of years ago, they were dark and forbidding, so steep that their flanks showed streaks of dark igneous rock where the snow could not find purchase.
As they rumbled past small homes, Neeld turned on a radio which played some kind of hard bass folk music. Over the din, he turned to call back to his passengers.
"So! What brings you to Chelez? Neeld has no choice, but you? I see many fine and fancy peoples, you are not fitting in here I think."
Seraphiel by the time the lot of them got to the bus was ready to take off. At this point facing the group, and with a small smirk she gave one more simple sentence.
"I will see you soon, do not dally."
With a quick crouch, and the spreading of her wings she was off. Nearing close to 25 feet of a wingspan, she launched off into the air with a combination of her legs, and wings. Launching off vertically, and starting to bank around the old building they had met in just a few moments ago. Once she got to the facing of Station 13 she began to rapidly pick up speed. Exerting herself a bit to get to her top speed, and climb as high as she could without the wind bothering her too much. With her abnormally keen eyes more than most other races, she began to scan the path the bus would take, and if she got in range the station itself. Opting to stay high and as out of sight as she could be, she used her magic when she got closer. Prador usually frowned on stealth in any fashion, but she was no longer in her homeland, and her views had adapted quite greatly in her time outside of the isolationist nation only just now starting to get a ANCnet.
But regardless for a moment in the sky a brilliant light could be seen as her natural siphon, her halo glowed like that of a star, and a moment later she was out sight. The light around her bending rendering her invisible. But a very keen eye could still see the displacement of snow from her wings downdraft. And if she got too close to the ground two almost 12 foot long wings was exactly quiet
The funny man in the big hat sitting behind the big man in the funny armour spoke up.
“Well, i'm here so that i can put something fancy on my resume to get into the school i want to go to. I'm not the best mage, and i only did well enough in class, so I figure if I can get something exceptional under my belt before applying…..”
Kroma rested an arm across the seat, almost casually watching out the window to enjoy the landscape drift by.
"My Order requires a certain amount of experience from extra-planetary expeditions, trivial stuff for the most part, but missions such as these are coveted by my kin. I had to best three other knights to qualify for this position."
His helmeted head peered out into the falling snow, watching for movement every so often to ensure he wasn't caught unaware of their route.
"Not too bad a place though. Bet you don't get many mosquitoes."
"Your boss offered us a job here to go check out that station up here. For me at least it's a break over the rest. Can't say much about the others"
That must be Neeld, the person they should not get killed. If it was anything to go by what the file had written down it was likely an unresponsive radio and some jumpy locals given. Who could blame the locals? They were just subject to rather publicly one of the worst battles that he'd recently heard of from across the ancnet and aboard Kessho Kairo... It was probably for the better not to mention any ties to the Yokari...
Halthet put the folder down on chair next to him and did not bother buckling up, but rather looked over at Oscar with a great deal of concern.
"You don't even have any real experience outside of schooling?..... Uh Neeld, how long should this trip take?"
Neeld turned his head back to the road in front of him, eyebrows raised. "Ooosh, you are in training? Will be fun time I am sure. Maybe a couple more hours to site. Depends on roads, yeah?"
True enough, they spent the next couple of hours rumbling along various remote roads, winding their way up into the mountains, passing the occasional remote farmstead or warehouse as they ascended. Visibility was poor, even for Seraphiel, with heavy snow and dying light.
"About fifteen minutes!" called Neeld some time later, as the bus growled up a particularly steep incline. Almost immediately afterwards, he bought the bus to a sudden, jerking stop. His face was visible in the passenger view mirror, and he was staring off to their right up a short bluff, against the setting sun. Two figures were visible, perhaps three hundred metres away, silhouetted against the ridgeline. They were practically immobile, two pairs of glowing yellow eyes springing from dark, barbaric-looking silhouettes.
From above, Seraphiel could only pick them out because she would have seen them arrive, dark blots racing across the rough terrain seemingly unhindered before coming to a stop near the road.
"Oo-kay, we wait a moment here..." said Neeld nervously.
“I mean, i have a little bit of experience. I ranked 14th in my class for combat spellcasting, and have been adventuring for a good long month or two by this point after all!
“- wait, why are we st- what the hell is that?”
Without the glowing eyes and knowing in what direction to look there was no chance that Oscar would have seen them.
The poor magician looked rather nervous, holding the staff in his left hand, one end resting on the floor in the isle.
Serpahiel could see just fine in the dark, but the snow did a fine job of obscurring her vision. Her vision turning black, and white when it became this dark. Her dual pupils turned to face the two, and she got right above them before breaking her stealth. Her halo lighting up the night sky like a streak in the air. She did a dive straight downwards, tucking her wings in, and rocketing down. Flipping around and rapidly flapping her wings to slow herself. She'd land directly behind the two, talking at the final stages of her landing. She was prepared to disengage, or block their attacks but wasn't being outwardly hostile with her weapon.
"Name thouselves, and intentions at once. Or by Uri'el's fury you will be stricken down."
Kroma peered through the window into the darkness, his natural night vision assisted by the warhelm he wore cutting through the dusk-lit storm. He would have suggested a more tempered response, perhaps even volunteered to venture out from here on foot. Once he saw the spotlight however, all ideas of subtly seemed distant.
He moved from the seat and made his way to the front of the transport, almost casually readying his rifle as he took a seat nearer to the driver. If this went south, he wanted to ensure Neeld had a competent bodyguard.
"What is that....."
Kaveh muttered to himself as he peered out of the busses window at the two figures and then the blinding light from their other compatriot. He ducked down and rummaged through his bag and pulled out a surplus carbine sized rifle, captured surplus from the war on this planet he bought off a back street dealer before coming here and made sure it was loaded.
"Oscar.. Get down. What the hell is birdbrain doing up there?"
The doctor whisper shouted at him to get out of sight of the window, and already using some creative language for his compatriots. A slight tinge of fear went through him as he crept up closer to the front of the bus to get a better look at the two figures and to help Kroma protect Neeld.
The two figures' raised their heads to watch as Seraphiel descended, turning in the saddle of what turned out to be jetbikes. They were clad in ornate mud-red combat armour with dark blue fatigues beneath, chased in silver. Their helmets had horns in the style of ibex, whilst their faces were hidden by snarling masks depicting some kind of predatory felid with long fangs. The glow of their eyes appeared to be artificial, lenses in a combat helmet. Each clutched a long spear that was couched in a rest at the side of their bike.
They regarded her silently for a moment before bursting into laughter, their voices deep and guttural. "Gadaadynkhan! Ter bidniig barivchlakh uu?!" asked one, struggling to get the words out whilst pointing in Seraphiel's direction. The other composed himself first, placing a hand on his thigh and leaning towards Seraphiel. When he spoke, his voice was monosyllabic and heavily accented.
"I am Sergeant Hulegugin of the 203rd Jade Marine Regiment, and I am patrolling this area after reports of Merger activity." he said lightly. "And just who are you?"
--
Aboard the bus Neeld hissed at the others. "Shit! Put away, put the guns away! Those are domovoi! I mean, ah, they are the Ingeners. They are 'helping' the CPA, or that is why they say they are still here. We don't need trouble with them so put fucking guns away!"
He watched intently, his eyes barely peeking over the lip of the cab window, hoping things didn't go south as the distant angelic figure spoke to the two figures.
Seraphiel cocked a small smirk, but did not change her daemenor all that much. Like every-time she spoke those near to her heard her voice twice. Once in the back of their heads, and once out loud.
"I am here to assist in reclaiming a radio tower. Along with that bus, perhaps it is mergers, perhaps bandits regardless it is my duty to do as I've sworn."
The woman re-spread her wings once more. Dwarfing the two bikes, as she crouched, and prepared to launch herself into the air. She asked before the launched off.
"Do you have any other pointless questions, or can we go?"
The other soldier glanced at Hulegugin. "Bid tüüniig buudakh yostoi yuu?" he asked, his tone earnest. There was a pause, and then the sergeant shook his head. "Nah."
He gestured with his free hand to check Seraphiel. "Slow down, gaijin. Who asked you to do this? What radio tower?"
The angelic woman slowly raised herself back up with a face that just showed 'Are you fucking kidding me?' Her wings slowly folded up behind her back, and she folded her arms under her chest. Sticking her weapon into the snow.
"CPA, and Pumping Station. I mis-spoke. Speak in a tongue I can understand, or I will not give you the same courtesy"
She replied. Brushing snow off of her wings by essentially wiggling them back and fourth. Her hair would get some snow on it, but as it breezed gently in the wind be it from her halo's reality bending effects on her, or through the actual wind most of it came off. The same could not be said about her actual skin, and the clothes covering her top, and hips/bottoms. She had thoughts of just killing the two here, and now. But for the sake of not making it a pain for her to get off-world she opted to reel in her murderous thoughts.
"Marine Ulbatai here was asking if he should shoot you, which he would be in his rights to do because we are the law here, not you." said the sergeant laconically. "I said 'no' but if I change my mind I will tell him in Common so you can understand," eliciting a chuckle from the other soldier.
He spoke in a third language for a moment, tilting his head as if speaking into a radio or phone. There was no audible reply, and the moment seemed to stretch out for a long, long time, the snow swirling around them. Eventually he nodded, replying again before straightening up.
"The Foothills Authority confirmed your story. So Pumping Station 13, eh? Sounds like a lot of fun."
He waved her onwards, up towards the mountains. "You and your friends stay safe out there. Maybe we'll come by to see how you are doing later, eh?" he said, the delivery suggesting some kind of joke Seraphiel was not privy to.
Seraphiel rolled her golden eyes. Though largely unnoticable due to the fact they were glowing golden eyes. She then crouched, grabbed her weapon, and launched off. Kicking up snow, and buffeting them with winds. She began heading up towards the mountain again. Not bothering to inform her comrades of the situation. She went back on her original course of getting to the station in advanced to do recon. her higher speeds, and aeriel advantage making it fairly easy.
Like before Seraphiel's halo lit up like a giant flashbang in the sky. Rendering her invisible once it faded out.
Neeld exhaled audibly, relieved, and started the bus again.
"All good, everyone is friends hey? I knew it would be alright," he said, a faint bitterness in his tone suggesting anything but
Kaveh gently sat his gun down on the floor of the bus as Neeld instructed. Past memories of deals gone wrong, all of those injuries and deaths he tried to fix, and on several occasions failed. Most of them started out like this, standoffs that got a little too jumpy before someone jumped first and ended with mutual injury. This was no place to repeat the errors of others.
He looked out at the window once more at their compatriotic winged figure conversing in their self created life with the two now revealed ingenious ones. Thankfully it seemed to end nicely.
"She could of handled it worse... What are those Ingeners doing out here?"
Kroma relaxed back into his seat, staying near to the front for now, content that they weren't going to have to shoot their way out of something unrelated to the mission.
"She reminds me of a younger me, give or take a pair of wings."
The Echo turned to look in the direction she had been headed, letting out a series of clicks as he assessed the terrain. He hoped she would refrain from any more brash actions upon her arrival, last thing they needed was their presence to be known before they even arrived on site.
Oscar had made what could only be described as a half assed attempt to get into cover. Getting out of his seat and crouching down so that his head was below the window, even if his rather large hat and staff were still visible, after the big scary lad had moved back to his seat however, Oscar had done the same.
“I don't know, but hey. At least they are not trying to kill us.”
The bus lurched forwards and, true to Neeld's prediction, it took less than half an hour for them to arrive at the site of Pumping Station 13. Nestled high in the mountains, with a narrow parking lot perched on a ledge in front of the main entrance, most of the building was nestled in the rock face. Up above them lay the reservoir, whilst beneath their feet a controlled waterfall spumed out into mist and foam below, freezing cold and merging seamlessly with the mists and fog that surrounded the facility. A single utility vehicle, a half-track sporting the old Chelez Hydrocorp logo, sat in the lot, piled snow suggesting it hadn't been touched in some time.
Bringing the bus to a stop, Neeld tugged on his hat and tucked a handgun into his belt before clambering out, lighting a smoke and then stretching. "This is front entrance. We go down some steps to the security office first, maybe someone there can tell us what is wrong."
He led the way towards a pair of metal doors set into a blank concrete facing in the wall, swiping an access card to open them. Nearly twice his height, they were large enough to admit the rest of the party easily. The lights were still on, strip lights with metal cages to prevent accidental damage, and illuminated a steep staircase of worked concrete with a worn metal handrail down one side. Perhaps 30 metres down there was another door, slightly ajar, with light leaking from behind it.
Neeld stopped, hesitant.
"Ahh...maybe someone else is going first?"
Kroma assumed that meant him, nodding to Neeld as he pressed past him to began down the stairs. His angular rifle had been drawn upon leaving the bus, and Kroma kept it trained on the doorway as he descended. He kept his profile narrow, though there was a conscious decision to remain placed between Neeld and the doorway. He slowed his advance as he approached the door, listening for signs of life on the other side.
One thing that immediately caught Kaveh's eye when he stepped out of the bus and pulled his jacket tightly over his clothing with a carbine and backpack in hand was that there was still a vehicle here. It didn't seem used, but it was still there.
"Place seems like a dam. Do you think part of it caved in and it flooded them out? They have a vehicle if they still needed to leave"
Kaveh stepped inside the steep stairwell behind Kroma and put a flashlight in his pocket if it was needed later. He didn't trust these lights or the wiring here, something here made him suspicious of noise. At the open door he motioned for the much better armored Kroma to go first with Oscar and Seraphiel going behind.
Oscar stayed a good ways up the staircase, far enough so that once the door opened he would be able to see a fair few feet into the room, but with the hope of being able to “shoot” at anyones legs if they tried to leave the room and rush him. As he did this he made a quiet callout to the rest of the group.
“If they start shooting you try to get out of the doorway, i might be able to burn-whatever is in there without them being able to get more than the first shot off.”
Like a spear from the sky Seraphiel appeared. She did several loops around the pumping station before, finally coming down. A burst of light as her spell broke, the Murifri landing with a small thud at the rear of the group. Seeing Kroma already taking point, but Oscar waiting behind she pushed past the mage and walked down the stairs. Catching up to take her place besides Kroma. While she preferred staying at a distance with a doctor, a mage, and being inside she opted to take point with Kroma. Her weapon still seeming just be some sort of strange metal stick. Having yet to activate it in any way.
As they got closer they could faintly hear a radio playing in the room. Creaking the door open, Kroma would see a room perhaps 500 square feet. To his right was a wall covered in monitors that displayed different camera feeds from across the facility, whilst to his right were some cubicles and one corner office with glazed glass, as well as a small kitchenette and a TV that appeared to be playing some kind of Marchander sporting event.
The seats were all empty, the consoles mostly displaying wallpapers of different kinds. It looked like the room had been cleared in a hurry, some kind of baked good with a meat filling half-empty on a plate nearest to Kroma.
Neeld edged past Kroma and the others and placed his hands on his head when he saw the room.
"This is not good. Should be at least three guys here, usually more. Hello?!" he called this last out louder, peeking into the corner office which was also empty...
Seraphiel's eyes darted towards Neeld, and she gave a quiet but very firm. "Shut up." Holding her hand to his mouth in a display of fast reflexes. She slowly lowered her hand from the mans mouth, and began moving towards the camera monitor. She began speaking, albiet quietly. Her voice projecting itself to the back of each of the groups head as she did so. As always with the strange Murifri. "Big guy, if you could cover that door, I'll check the monitors, Neeld please don't yell to our enemies, stay behind us." She moved over to the security station as she said she would. On her way gesturing Oscar down from the top of the staircase, along with the doctor if he hadn't entered just yet.
Kroma, glad to see Seraphiel's presence was with them now, nodded, turning to cover the entry as the rest of the crew funneled inside. He hadn't drawn his sword yet, but his lower hand was affixed to the pommel in case of any sudden movements.
"Entrance secured." He said plainly, happy to let the angel lead.
"Don't get too handsy there Ms. Wings'"
Kaveh said to Seraphiel as she pushed him out of the way to go follow behind Kroma. He kept in the third place with both of them when they came into the room. There was no one here, it was dead in the middle of what would of been a lunch break, god help someone who had to work some misery in a cubicle to look forward to lunch.
The doctor walked around the room and looked at a few various things and even picked up a piece of the food and gave it a quick sniff to see how old it was, who knows, if it was fresh it might give them some better news.
Kaveh looked over to Kroma and Seraphiel and whispered as he caught up to them.
"While you two are keeping yourselves busy to see who has the unfortunate job of door clearing, its best if we keep our eyes open. Some of that food still seemed a bit palatable, on the good side it means we aren't far behind. Or it could be bad news depending on how you spin it."
Oscar entered the room dead last, walking in after the rest of the group. Seemingly worried and at least a little frightened.
"I mean, it must have been the people who shot at the buss before who kidnapped everyone, perhaps they want a ransom? Or they could be holding this entire dam hostage... Neeld, do you know if there is anything that could be flooded if this place went down?
As Oscar said this he also wandered in the general direction of the security cameras.
Neeld scowled at Kroma and Seraphiel. "I am here to get my guys, if they are still here we should find them."
The doorway leading further into the facility was also ajar, showing another steep flight of concrete steps, but the lights were out to this flight. Night vision would reveal a set of double doors at the far end, whilst set into the floor halfway along the corridor was the entrance to the top of narrow a spiral metal staircase leading deeper into the facility.
He crossed over to one of the terminals and typed away for a moment, before glancing up at Kaveh with concern.
"The flow rate reports haven't been opened since three days..." he said, pointing at the screen. The alphabet was strange to the foreigners, but the layout of the system was simple enough - the top dozen files were all bolded, indicating they were unread.
As Oscar and Seraphiel approached the security monitors, it became clear something was wrong. Some of them displayed the interior of the facility, the feed unnaturally still with no signs of life. Others were dark, either turned off or night vision not active in a darkened room, whilst a couple displayed the exterior of the facility. On one their bus was visible, slowly gathering snow, whilst on the other it was not.
Another monitor showed what looked like a beach under a dark sky, large rocks and pebbles washed by a lethargic ink-black sea. Finally, and most disconcertingly, there was one watching the room they were in now. They could not see themselves in it.
Kroma squinted at Neeld from behind his warhelm, the unwelcome scowl from the Marchander sending his blood into a low boil. His training kept him from speaking on it, though he would remember the gesture once they returned to civilization.
From his position by the door, Kroma made one last check up the stairway before turning back to the group.
"So they weren't interested in information, not really a surprise. If anything, the location beneath the reservoir seems like its most valuable asset. Are there any other facilities like this one attached to the reservoir?"
Kaveh took a small bite out of the food before spitting it out onto the plate again after it turned out to be rather old. He walked over to see what Neeld was looking at, days upon days of missed files and messages were lost here. His eyes darted across the security monitors as they took on a subtle yellow hue from their prosthetic nature as Oscar and Seraphial approached them.
"Can we look at any other rooms in the compound?"
He remembered a similar trick a pair of safe robbers on Kessho Kairo he had to patch up told him about when they tried to break into a well to do suite of a visiting businessman. They hacked into the recording software to play back a loop of normal activity for themselves to go by unnoticed. In the back of his mind Kaveh kept this, there was nothing to prove it yet or spur on
Seraphiel leaned over the monitors giving them all a quick look over. Her eyes lingering on the one with the beach. She spoke as she began heading to the security camera that looked over this room. "I understand wanting to find your people, but we are up against an unknown threat, possibly Mergers from what the Ingen soldiers were saying. Take a look at those camera's, if anything you recognize is different say so."
Seraphiel from there would approach the security cam of the room to inspect it. Dragging over a table if need-be to get up to it. Doing a quick look over it to see if the camera itself was tampered with. And if she couldn't find anything on it, she would break it. Mainly to see if the security feeds would change or not.
"Wait a minute.... This is the room we are in and its a live feed."
Kaveh said to Seraphial as he paid some more attention to the video feed. He looked over at the angel and Neeld with a yellow tinge in his iris now.
"Hey Angel-wings. This is a trick some people I had to patch up pulled once, placed a looped tape into the security system so when they were.... entering a building.... wouldn't get caught. Reminds me of that."
“I mean, I figure the best way to figure out if it's a loop or not would be to slap the camera around, or uh… disabling the loop?- turning it on and off again? It would also be a good idea to turn the rest of the cameras on. But that's going to have to be someone else's doing, no tech classes at a magic school after all.”
While Oscar said this he started to prod at the camera monitor system with his staff, clearly not actually doing anything to help with the camera situation.
When Seraphiel broke the housing of the camera, the feed to one of the monitors cut to black. There was no obvious tampering with it, but the inside of the camera was faintly wet.
The others scanned the remaining feeds, but they could see nothing of interest, except one of the underwater cameras in the intake pipe which briefly flashed as though something had moved past it.
Neeld pointed to one display which showed a small kitchenette with a few tables around, some playing cards still across one.
"This is living quarters. Maybe we check there? We must go through surge chamber first."
He tapped another monitor, which was black with script on it in the local language. Even for those who could not read it and did not have a
translator, it was clear that the warning meant the camera was offline.
"Looks like problems in there."
Satisfied they weren't being followed inside, Kroma turned to inspect the viewing screen in question. No matter the theories, they had to sweep this place from top to bottom regardless. Kroma turned to Neeld and then to the rest of the group, before nodding and heading towards the surge chamber, rifle at the ready.
Oscar stopped poking at the computer, seeing that someone clearly needed his help. Halting his poking and prodding at the computer as Need helped him out with handling the computer, walking across the room to Kroma, and with him the door, getting relatively hopped up with the idea of actually murdering something with a combat spell.
“er, - Kroma. You should go first into that room, you have the most armour.”
Seraphiel at the good doctors comment glared over to Kaveh. Replying with just one word, her name. "Seraphiel." After breaking the camera, she unceremoniously dropped it to the ground. Moving to Kroma's side.
"I concur, Kroma you take point, I'll be right behind you to aid in battle. Oscar behind me, than you Neeld, than the doctor." She quickly moved into position either behind, or next to Kroma depending on the width of the area. Proceeding to the next room. She pressed a button on her 'staff.' A broad, arrow like tip igniting in a hue of brilliant purple energy. It essentially had the same qualities as super heated plasma in a contained field, but it was magical in nature.
"What are the surge chambers?"
Kaveh asked Neeld as he took up the rear of the group after Seraphial's retort. The cameras did indeed seem to still be working at least, just there was something fishy about them. The whole place seemed a bit uneasy, stuck inside a cliffside with a bunch of relative strangers in it for the money.
"At least I can be a bit creative in nicknames ey? It's no big deal."
The doctor made sure he had a round in the chamber of his carbine and followed into the next room
The group moved through the next corridor, cautiously passed the head of a spiral staircase and entered the pump chamber, the door creaking ajar slowly. It was dark, but they could tell they had entered a larger room, one that smelled strongly of lakewater and wet stone. The walls seemed as if they had recently been soaked, but there was no sound of rushing water or pumps working. Indeed from down below was an overwhelming silence. Neeld muttered under his breath.
"This is not good," he said, turning on a flashlight and leaning to peer down into the surge tank. It seemed empty, but then he gasped.
"Look, down there!" he cried, pointing to the sloped bottom of the tank where a dark figure lay sprawled on the concrete.
Kroma pulled Neeld back from the tank, holding up a finger in front of his helm to indicate desired quiet.
"Best not to shout."
The Echo carefully approached the tank, kneeling down next to the opening to peer over the edge. His vision easily pierced the darkness, inspecting the body at the bottom.
"Is there any access to that section on a lower level?"
Kaveh pushed forward up to where the Echotian was acting rather strange in this room and over to Neeld. He looked over to the bottom of the tank and say the clearly deceased figure lay.
"Well thats not pleasant. Kroma can you make sure I don't fall in?"
Kaveh took off his jacket and rolled up his slim fitting shirts sleeves and began to rummage around his medical bag for a pair of white rubber gloves that went up to his elbows. With what looked like a meathook in one hand and a headlamp on his head he got down on the floor to try and reach the corpse and fish it out.
"If we can figure out what the cause of death is, we can probably find out what happened to the rest of the facility... My current guess is drowning."
"By Etro's grace!" Seraphiel gave a dramatic sigh, and a small huff. "No one is going into the spooky, possibly evil water." While she didn't have darkvision, or a flashlight, Seraphiel's halo was an organic flashlight. In it's dimmest lighting being that like a high powered lantern. The Angelic woman stepped forward putting her hand on Kaveh, and pushing him back so she could be in the front of him. Her eyes glew a bright gold, and the Halo's light glowed bright enough to illuminate much of the room. Tendrils of golden light outstretched from her hand, she lifted the body up out of the water, and unceremoniously tossed it onto the ground letting the magic quickly die down, along with the light from her eyes, and halo. She dropped her hand to her side, and said flatly. "There, happy? You can prod at him now."
"Man, giving it a wild guess i think that he died from uh, death? Im not a doctor. although using the magic was, probably kinder to the dead than fishing him out. at least, i hope think dead- probably dead? most likely dead even? It would have been a bit strange to fish him out of the water and then figure out he's still kicking, just uh- passed out from inhaling a bunch of water?... We should try chest compressions! My first aide class told me that its always worth a shot!"
While this happened the poor mage was looking over the railing at the body-related-shenanigans, getting kinda jealous at this person with magic that did more than work in one overly specific scenario.
“Y’all acting like you have never seen a body before, and thanks for picking it up.” Kaveh walked over to pick up his bag and over to the body laying on the ground. While he was getting a pair of pliers and a small saw. “Trust me we’d know if he was dead.. I’ll reassure for good measure.”
The doctor turned on his light and tried to open up the closed eyes and to try and quickly find out what caused death
"...I've never seen a dead body before."
The mage said while looking at the hopefully dead body, getting very close to performing the most ancient method of seeing if it was dead or not, poking it with a stick.
The little Marchander was in a horrific state. Its face, groin and armpits had all been gnawed at by something, seemingly smallish, and it stank of bloat. The corpse was waterlogged, washed clean of blood, and there were no obvious wounds. It was dressed in the rags of a mechanic's jumpsuit. Kaveh's examinations would show that there was not much water in the lungs, suggesting the victim was dead before entering the water, though what the cause of death was remained unclear.
Neeld promptly vomited, muttering and moaning in distress. "What happened to him? Why did the others not help him?" he asked plaintively
Kroma stood, not wanting to be near the corpse as it was examined. His attention was focused on the environment around them, watching for signs of movement, listening for anything beyond their group.
"Perhaps this one was undone by his fellow workers. Perhaps this one was an example of things to come? It matters little, this one was killed, meaning their killer is probably still here. We should not linger here."
"You aren't a coroner Kroma, whatever did it is long gone and did this a few days ago most likely, the same probably happened with the rest of the crew. There is no way they simply left him away rotting here to be gnawed on by rats. I don't have enough time to do a full autopsy"
Kaveh tried to quickly pack up his medical equipment after quickly dousing them with a clear strong smelling alcohol to clean them from the rot. He stood back up and looked down on the dead marchlander and crossed both of its arms and did not seem to mind the frankly terrible smell.
"Shame it came to that, lets go."
"Oh- oh god. I knew he was dead lookin. But this is fucked up. I mean dear god it looks like someone munched on him. Are there zombies here? This sounds like zombies."
While Oscar was saying this he had to step over the body to get through the walkway, wrenching a little bit at the sight and smell. Casting a localized heat spell on his staff where it had touched the body.
After a moment the group would realise that Seraphiel's light had not just dimmed when she stepped back from raising the corpse, but had gone out entirely. Turning, they would find absolutely no trace of her whatsoever.
Neeld, who had been muttering a blessing over the corpse in his native language, stood as he realised the light had gone.
"Seraphiel? Hello? Hello?!" he called out, his voice somewhat frantic.
"Ha ha very funny Seraphiel. Come on out and we can get going, we're done here."
Kaveh put the pack back on his back and picked up his carbine and looked around the room a bit hopelessly. He looked over at Neeld and the others and seemed a bit concerned, he called out a bit louder for her and his eyes darted around the room with a bit of fear. This was not right.
"If this is because I said some dumb stuff earlier I apologize. This isn't funny now"
Kroma stifled an angry growl as he turned back to Neeld and Kaveh. His voice was low, meant only to be heard at a short distance.
"Silence, the both of you. Can you both hold yourselves together for five minutes? Seraphiel has probably gone ahead again, as before. We do not know who else is still here, and likely now aware of our location. Keep your voices down, or damn us to discovery."
The Echo pulled back, assuming his previous stature.
"Let us not keep the angel waiting. Neeld, can you contain yourself long enough to get us to the lower levels?"
“I mean, perhaps they just- left? Not wanting to deal with… this. I mean, far as i knew we were signed up for a couple of yahoos with rifles, and perhaps some mild terrorists, not- zombies?"
"At this rate, it doesn't seem like such a bad idea. Though I'd hate to imagine what might my superiors might think should one of you end up at the bottom of a resivoir."
Kroma half chuckled, though he kept his comment directed moslty at Oscar.
Neeld turned to look Kroma up and down.
"You know what, domov? No. I'm done, screw you!"
He hucked his ID card at Kroma then turned to leave, heading back up the corridor, muttering as he went.
"Not paid enough, no no,""
As his footsteps receeded, the remaining team members would hear a scream from further down below...
"...I- I-m going to go check with him. Don't know about the rest of you but I came here to get paid and without Neeld I ain't."
Kaveh had a startled look on his face like he had just seen a ghost, he was very concerned as to what happened to Seraphiel and now that scream. There was absolutely no reason to stick around any longer in this.... Place... Especially given the history of combat and death on this planet with those Yokari sticking around.
"If either of you two are so inclined. I'm going back to the bus. I hope to see both of you there."
The good doctor turned around and followed Neeld up to the surface and out of this subterranean hell.
Kroma snatched the ID card out of the air, his anger at the situation momentarily snuffed by the sounds of screams from below. Someone was alive down there and they were so close. To hell with his pay, he couldn't walk away now.
The Echo turned to Oscar as he moved towards the staircase at the far end of the surge chamber.
"This is your chance to get out of this alive. Feel free to choose your path from here on out."
Without checking to see if the others would follow, Kroma began descending the spiral staircase to the lower level.
Oscar looked at the night, the body, and then the people who made the smart decision and left. Oscar knew that he would never get over himself if he let someone die, especially when someone else was more than willing to go ahead and walk down the staircase first. In oscars mind this was no longer simply about getting into the good school or getting paid, this was about not letting anyone die alone, down there, Like that.
So Oscar, the cowardly dog mage followed the knight down the stairs, and into darkness.
Kroma and Oscar headed down the metallic spiral staircase, their footsteps ringing loudly in the quiet despite their attempts at stealth. The lower corridor seemed well lit, but even as they reached the bottom the lights went out, leaving only dim yellow emergency lights along the floor.
To their left was a large doorway that led to the residential quarters, whilst to the right the corridor led along to the cell store elevator. Below them, the staircase continued downwards into the lower bowels of the facility.
Whilst they were looking, they would notice a dark figure between them and the residential area. There was a foul stench, like something that had been submerged for a month and then dredged up, and they felt rather than heard a great rage and hate.
The figure surged forwards, revealing a bizarre and inhuman form, thrashing pincers and gnashing teeth barely visible in the darkness, reaching for Kroma and Oscar
To the others above, this was visible on the security feed. They also heard engines outside, barely audible over the wind
Oscar saw that thing and responded in the most human way, with fire. A wave of his special brand of thermal energy around the side from kroma, starting at his staff and expanding in a cone down the hallway. That appeared like a flamethrower to the outside observer as it caused air to combust. A much stronger mage would have been able to skip the “combustion” step and turned the air directly into plasma.
Oscar's superconductive staff glowed cherry red from the casting, his gloves saving him from fast, horrible burns. But Oscar knew, if he got a second chance to make a cast he would have to do something cold, to cool the staff down and allow for more hot spells.
Kroma sneered as the creature advanced towards them, bringin up his rifle to join Oscars flame as he fired at nearly point blank range. His secondary limbs readied his blade, content to finish the abomination in close quarters should it withstand the high caliber rounds. He moved to block the beasts path even as the last of the flames relented, barring it from passing to devour the mage.
Back into the relative safety of the security desk with Neeld, Kaveh looked at monitors as they displayed their grainy video feed of the horror below. He looked over at the frightened Neeld in a bit of shock and clenched onto his rifle and almost seemed like he wanted to raise it at the marchlander.
"What the hell is that! What did you drag us into!"
Kaveh was angry, he hoped that Oscar and Kroma and made the wise choice and ran and tried to rummage around to find an intercom system in the security desk to call for them to run. The bus was still here, they could still escape.
The beast caught fire with a hideous scream, it's form twitching as the rounds pounded into it, but the huge mass of flesh and chitin ploughed onwards uncontrollably, a huge weight thundering towards the two of them.
Above, Neeld slapped the desk angrily and gestured at Kaveh. "Everything here fine till you offworlders came!"
They found an intercom system on the console below the cameras
Kroma's instincts told him to fight, but his training crushed the feelings down in the face of such a foe. This was not the place to fight such a beast, they would need the upper hand.
"Forgive me wizard."
Lightning face movements brought Kroma away from the creature, scooping up Oscar with his secondary arms as he made for the stairs. He fired off several more rounds into the monsters face before ascending the flight. Perhaps it could not follow them in such a confined space, or at least he hoped it would be slowed.
"If you have any way to slow this thing, we could use some ice right about now"
The mage's staff went from cherry red to cryogenically cold, Oscar knew he had the mana for at most two more big ones, or a bunch of smaller spells. But with one target and the exit right there the poor, panicked mage was going big, and going home.
The temperature of the hallway went down to somewhat deep in the negatives, as the water in the air turned into snowflakes, and a coat of very, very cold formed on the stairs behind the duo. It would most certainly put the flame on the creature out, but the extent of it was largely limited to the stairs. Oscar knew the ice and cold would not help much, but the heat capacity in his staff would allow for a larger followup spell.
"What was it that they brought here!"
Kaveh moved quickly to the door out and blocked the path from Neeld potentially trying to escape. He needed answers now, this was way over their heads and what they expected, nothing here was right now and it would never be right again. Not with those things running around.
"Now I need some answers now.... Do you have a way to call back the Admin building?"
He was acting antsy with his rifle with his eyes darting around and shivering a bit, it was fear.
The burning ruin of the creature, mangled by flame and bullets, tumbled past the foot of the stairs, sliding on the ice Oscar had made. As it passed they caught a foul stench, a stench of rotting things dredged up from the deeps that were never meant to see the light of day. It was hard to make out details, but there was a clear and disgusting mismatch of tentacles, soft fleshy parts, chitin, jaws, claws and other bizarre elements all tangled together to create a being unlike anything any of them had seen before.
Even as they watched, the corpse began to twitch, moving inch-by-inch towards the inlet of the surge chamber that lay ahead. In the other direction, the door to the Residential area now stood open
--
Above them, in the Security room, Neeld loosed a stream of invectives at Kaveh, before switching to Common.
"You people! No Cult before offworlders came, no rumours or horrors or crazies in robes! Every bomb you drop just makes more!"
He sighed. "Yes we can call, desk over there."
"Right, right! Call your boss and let them know what happened. We did our job and we know what happened here, this place is fucked."
Kaveh scurried over to the desk phone and tried to find what looked like the building intercomm system and over to the CITV screens showing the horror below. What was it that the Jade Empire, Gauss, Pords, and those Unioners did here to bring this horror upon the world. He wanted to try and find out what the bigger problem was, but now trying to prevent everyone from getting turned to shreds by that thing was.
They would not be able to fully fight back.
He picked up the intercomm by the security desk and looked to turn it on and spoke into it, hopefully it still was able to broadcast throughout the complex.
"Oscar! Kroma! Get your asses out of there! This entire place is fucked, we did our job and we need to leave. NOW!"
Kroma scowled at the corpse, his nostrils flaring behind his helm as the stench filtered inside. The Echo snorted, attempting to clear his sinuses as the voice of Kaveh echoed over the intercom. He watched for a moment more before turning to Oscar.
"I am no fan of retreat, but perhaps we should reconvene with the others to decide what our next step will be."
Kroma started back up the stairs, but stopped a few meters up to ensure Oscar was following.
"You did well back there. Glad I could count on you."
Oscar spoke while following the knight up the staircase, unwinded due to being carried.
Y-yeah, let's get out of here. I can probably fuse the door into this place shut, and hope there's not another. Although, there is probably still someone alive down there, so we should inform the local military to clear the place out. Or turn this place into a crater.
The mage was holding his “absurdly cold” staff in his right glove, holding it away from the rest of himself, knowing that skin contact with it was a very bad idea.
As Kaveh watched, to his horror, he saw movement in the surge chamber. Water was churning in it, sprays of foam occasionally dancing up over the lip as the water level slowly rose. Even as Oscar and Kroma reached the top of the circular stairs that opened into one corner of the surge chamber, they realised that they were not alone. They could see more disgusting shapes slithering out of the sinkhole in the centre of the room...
"Neeld, what did I say before. Get on that phone and call your boss, this is way way over our heads now."
He peeked his head out of the security room and looked down the staircase into to the surge chamber and saw movement, it was starting to fill up a quickly and soon the entire compound would be flooded. Dealing with water and drowning injuries when its frigidly cold outside is not exactly a fun thing to deal with, especially with those monsters below.
Kaveh shouldered his carbine as he looked down and shouted out, hopefully to Kroma and Oscar.
"Hurry up!"
Kroma's eyes widened as his vision caught sight of the surrounding movement, his mind forgetting about anything other than survival.
His battle cry faltered as he cursed loudly, grabbing Oscar out of habit and sprinting out of the room. Controlled breathing became heavy as Kroma's O'ren surged into his limbs, sending a burst of speed that would have been impossible to another in as much armour as the Echotian warrior.
Within seconds, the panting Echo stopped inside the security room, whipping around to face the doorway; drawing his rifle as he knelt to catch his breath.
After being saved again by Kroma Oscar had a simple solution to this entire problem of water and an open door. Slamming the thing, and starting to weld it shut with a extremely short range, extremely strong heat beam type spell. Distinctly not out of breath, given the free ride Oscar had gotten so far.
Something hideous snatched at Kroma as they sprinted past, but failed to stop him. Tumbling through, they could hear inhuman blubbering and squealing beyond, the chittering of something not used to speaking in the open air. Oscar's quick reactions sealed the door just in time, the metal hissing and cooling almost as rapidly in the damp subterranean air just as something huge threw its bulk against it from the far side.
Neeld came up beside Kaveh and then yelped in realisation. There was another staircase leading from the lower levels, its entrance lying smack dab in the middle of the corridor between the security room and the surge chamber. As Oscar and Kroma worked to secure the door, Neeld dodged past Kaveh and stared down the spiral staircase, then recoiled, looking at his hand in terror. Visible to all, the metal railing was shaking. Something was coming up.
"Holy..."
Kaveh paused for a moment, to him it seemed like life flashed before his eyes and his heart was racing at the sudden closeness that whatever that beast was rushing towards the door. He looked over at Neeld, Kroma, and Oscar who just got backed and yelled over to them.
"What the hell are you waiting for! Lets get out of here!"
The staircase shuttered and Neeld screamed away in terror. Kaveh tried to pull him up and lead him away to bring him out of the state of shock and towards the long staircase they descended to get here in the first place.
"..Shit"
"Seconded!"
Kroma lurched towards the staircase, prepping a fresh magazine into his rifle before turning it to the rising creature below. As the weapon roared, Kroma looked to the others, his helm betraying nothing, but his voice firm and commanding.
"Get to the transport! Ill keep your asses covered as long as I can!"
The Echotian backed away from the hole, back to the exit. His armour was slick with slime and decay, ruddying the alabaster armour and slicking the fur collar with grime. A feral snarl birthed itself from his vox, churning into a roar as he challenged the beast below.
"Come then! Shal'kes Vekkan!"
“Man, fucking run i don't think you are winning that fight- Let's get out and seal the door.”
The mage said this, while running. Leaving the brave knight to commit a needless self sacrifice, stumbling up the stairs with the lukewarm staff in hand.
Kroma's gunfire felt like it was having great effect and no effect all at once. The rounds punched into the darkness with the crunching, thudding sound of ammo hitting flesh and bone, and there were screeches and the sickly wet sound of gore being slapped against the walls, but the dark tide of horror kept coming. Occasionally Kroma caught what he thought were glimpses of mammalian physiology in among the chaos.
As the party fell back through the facility, Neeld began to yelp frantically. As they reached the first room, the security room, he collapsed and began twitching and jerking awkwardly.
"Help! I can't swim!" he yelled out in Marchander, frantic, as his fur began to rise as if in water. His eyes rolled back in his head and his veins began to swell, as a strangle cracking noise began. Oscar would recognize, almost smell the magic in the air, whilst Kaveh realized the cracking was bones breaking and shifting...
"I a-agree!"
The doctor began to run out of the security room in abject terror of the beast that was following them, he snuck a look backwards at it. It was no monster or a singular real entity, but simply a mass of absolute gore, Kaveh tried to keep back vomit. He had seen some nasty and frankly disgusting sights on Kesho Kairo and tried to put some of them back together, but nothing like this ever before.
It was repulsive.
The screams of Neeld caught Kaveh's ear and he tried to run back and try to help him. It was too late, that was the sound of bones falling in on themselves, a body changing... Neeld was becoming one of them. Kaveh pulled up his short rifle and kept it pointed at the quickly turning Marchlander while quickly walking backwards and then into a full on sprint out of the room and to the stairs.
The mage got up the stairs right as the man started to …change. Before that Oscar figured he would have been able to soak up some of the mana using his hat. And even now he might have been able to do something about it, but honestly Oscar was scared, and trigger happy by this point.
It looked like a welding cone, bright white at the start with a lot of blue further out. It was focused, quick, and hopefully a fast end for Neeld. Even if Oscar was not focused on that, and ran through the room following the … good doctor, still seeing where the white of the flame was even as it was gone. not bothering to look at the result of the torch.
Kroma took several steps back as the monstrosity emerged from the hole, turning to bolt after the others once they had reached a safe distance. His HUD flashed with white light as Oscar bathed Neeld's body in flame; the Echotian moving at a break-neck speed towards them. Clawed boots hammered rapidly towards them, taking a few more pot-shots at Neeld before the rifle clicked empty. His lower hand had already prepped a fresh magazine as the old one fell free, readying himself for another push as he waited for the others to press onward.
Through the breach once Seraphiel had returned reborn. A fight, and a glorious one her previous self would never have had overcome. Fighting her way out of the surge chamber, and breaking down Oscars welded door with a acute magical explosion the equivalent of a breaching charge. The Crimson Queen came like a rocket of golden light from the breach of darkness coming slowly towards Kroma. Slashing where she could with her blade, and tucking her wings. Sliding along the ground on her feet, rotating and shooting what essentially was a mortar shell of a brilliant golden white explosion of magic. Their former companion draped in the same clothes albeit ripped, and tattered from her fighting, her white feathered wings now draped in crimson red. Her spear and bow combo staff was gone replaced by a two handed longsword, and atop her head was a crown that looked like twisted branches intertwined, but made of solid gold. Her golden eyes looked over to Kroma a small bloody smirk on her face. "You shall fall back, a warriors death does not await you this day. I shall hold them off, and return to you."
"Took you long enough!" Kroma half-laughed as he roared out to Seraphiel, "I'll ensure the others get outta here safely, you torch these sons of bitches!"
The Echo was relieved to have the angel return; in spite of her bold nature, there was something about having a powerful being as an ally that really boosted moral. Even as the Echo moved towards the exit, herding the others while taking more shots back towards the incoming masses, he was setting forth a challenge for Seraphiel.
"Show these Ve'Kask whatre youre made of!"
Neeld uttered an otherworldly shriek as he was bathed in flame. He began to twist and flail, strange and disturbing shadows dancing in the light cast by Oscar's flame, before Kroma's last few shots put a permanent end to his torment.
Further down, the ground began to shake. The roiling mass of horror continued towards them, and the moment it breached the doors to the security room, the lights went out as disturbing forms poured in all directions from the ruined doors, overrunning the room in a matter of moments.
Outside, Kaveh was the first to emerge into the cold darkness, night having fully set. A flickering light illuminated the parking lot, whilst off to one side sat the two speeder bikes they had encountered what seemed like a lifetime ago. The marines were stood uncertainly, one placing a call whilst the other held his gunspear at the ready, as if expecting something to emerge from the facility.
The glittering vitredur blade swung up at Kaveh as he staggered outside, but was dropped as the soldier recognised him from the bus earlier. Not coming closer, he called out to Kaveh.
"What's going on in there?!"
As he sprinted out atlast towards the bus from out of that hellhole of a dam facility Kaveh breathed a slight sigh of relieg. He could of sworn he saw Seraphiel out of the corner of his eyes while rushing up the stairs in a scenario way out of his league, he was a doctor and entrepreneur looking for some easy money... Not whatever this thing turned into now.
He did not wait for the others now to get back to the bus, but they would hopefully follow soon enough. The Jade soldiers suprirsed him and brought him to a panicked halt in the snow, Kaveh thought they had long since vanished into the cold night out from the bus.
"There's a damn monster down there... Everything... Everything is alive and full of teeth."
Kroma nodded to the Seraphiel, acknowledging the situation was that of containment, turned to keep his attention on escorting the rest of the group. He ascended the stairs, keeping Oscar from falling behind as they left Seraphiel to do what she did best. As he neared the top, the sound of Kaveh speaking pushed him to reach the exit. As he appeared in the entrance to the facility, Kroma cleared his throat, resulting in a series of clicking noises as his vocal chords shook. His eyes linegred on the weapon in the soliders hands, and his voice emerged as a warning of crackling fire.
"You best be putting that weapon away, Vek'ka. Wouldn't want to get yourself hurt. The dead tend to not stay that way for too long around here."
As oscar got out of the building, holding the glowing white staff of power, while also not being entirely surprised to see the soldiers standing about it was still a bit of a shock.
“No, you really should not put it away. After the next person to get out, a shoot on sight policy would not be… entirely unreasonable.
As the mage said this oscar waved the white hot stick of metal around, just a little. Swishing it through the snow to cool it down while creating clouds of steam.
Seraphiel, the Queen in Red took one step back, her hand outstretching again and from it a white bead, that on contacted exploded in a brilliant white explosion roughly the power of a mortar shell. Again, and again she kept this up to hold them off. Her blade glowing a bright brilliant light. Once Seraphiel got to the door she outstretched her hand, and shot one final spell, before booking it. A small magical white orb that hit the back wall of the room, and stuck to it. Flashing, and slowly flashing faster, and faster. By the time Seraphiel running as fast as she could with a mix of her own magic, and her organic adrenaline glands that usually kicked in when flying would break through the exit.
The spell was one of Seraphiel's most powerful, in her previous state she'd have been in no condition to fling it, but now the story was different. The spell was an explosion, with essentially the magnitude of a high powered artillery blast. The Murifri with red wings broke out with a soft gasp of air. Stumbling, and looking up to the Jade soldiers. She grew a small smirk at seeing them both, and said between labored breaths. "I'd recommend calling in more men, along with any magic, and psionic experts you can. Set up a quarantine, maybe..." She sighed, and stood up fully. Stretching out her wings for the first time since she went down with a soft groan.
The staircase from the security room up to the entrance detonated loudly, spewing smoke and debris out of the entrance in a billowing cloud of heat and wreckage. The tunnel partially collapsed, rubble filling their view down through the ruined doors, whilst one of the floodlights above flickered before losing power, dimming the scene outside as Seraphiel stumbled out of the chaos she had just created with her powerful spell.
"Godsnovshdamnit," cursed Sergeant Hulegugin in a mix of common and east wusian. "Marine, call it in, Merger."
He stepped closer to Kaveh and, one hand still on the rifle, tugged out a small gemstone disc inlaid with a platinum dragon icon. It was clearly a religious symbol, normally worn on a chain around the neck but instead tucked into his bracer for safekeeping. He waved it vaguely at Kaveh, the light from the entrance glinting off it faintly. When Kaveh did nothing except look bemused, he nodded and repeated the process with each of the newcomers, pausing only to tell Kroma to shut up unless he wanted to spend time in an IJN brig. When none of them reacted to the platinum icon, he tucked it back into his bracer and shouldered his gunspear.
"Ok, you're clear. Get away from the doors. This whole place is infested, it's a good thing you made it out of that pit."
Marine Ulbatai broke in in east wusian, yelling to be heard over the storm, a long string of monosyllabic speech that ended with a finger pointed at the bus behind them.
"Oh, right...didn't you have a driver last time we saw you?"
In the distance, they could already see bright lights moving in the sky, even though the screaming wind made it hard to hear them
Kroma smiled at the threat, glad someone around here finally had a spine.
"Unfortunately, I'm dissatisfied to report his body was turned inside out, corrupted by the area, before it was destroyed."
The Echo did not shy away from this, stating it as a matter-of-fact. He had been fed up with the Marchander's constant screeching; if it hadn't affected their bottom line, he might've even been relieved.
"If it would serve any use, I can have a copy sent to your superiors for review?"
Kaveh followed along as the soldiers ordered, not exactly wanting to spend what was left in the night forgotten away in a jail cell and let them do their small religious rite on him. Merger, he'd heard that name before. From one of the locals on his ride up here, likely the outsiders Neeld was talking about before he died.
"What the fuck is wrong with you Kroma, do you even have a soul! Don't you see that Neeld just got eaten up by that Thing?! We sure as hell aren't getting paid for this shit now. Fuck!"
Kaveh lead off on a panic and anger fueled bout of profanaties directed at the Echo after they cleared the entrance to the cavern and he put his bag inside the bus after opening up the doors. He held onto his carbine, just in case. They no longer had their driver, or the person they needed to keep alive in the first place to even get paid for heading out into the ass end of nowhere and putting their neck on the line. However there was a deep gut feeling inside of him that this would not end here.
Oscar had a plan, and it had 4 simple steps! The first was to use the hot staff to create a cloud of steam to vanish behind! And the second was to vanish behind it!
Oscar kept cooling the hot rod of superconductor down as he walked in the direction of the bus, not wanting to get involved with the two less it be mentioned who exactly lit Neeld on fire. As he went to the door, he looked at the empty driver's seat, and thought pragmatically.
“So, does anyone have a driver's licence? I've always wanted to try but there were no vehicles like this where I'm from.”
As he said this he continued cooling the staff down in the snow, not wanting to get on the bus and then have to get off once it was on fire.
Kroma turned his head to look at Kaveh, peering down at him as the Echo was berated with curses.
"We all watched him die, Kaveh, to pretend otherwise would be foolish. We will own our failures as well as our successes."
The Echo gave a short series of clicks, clearing his throat before turning back to the soldiers.
Seraphiel let out one long drawn out sigh. The battered woman saying softly, but still utterly sternly. "Stop your endless bickering. Neeld was a bumbling fool who jeopardized our mission more than once. If he were under my command his fate would not be all that different. Now, I will see you all back at the city." Seraphiel turned her head to face the two soldiers, and spoke firmly. "Is there anything else you require of me?"
Overhead, IJN gunships and shuttles appeared out of the snow. One set down in the parking lot and marines poured out, followed by a handful of men and women in civilian clothes whilst, far below, they could see the headlights of ground vehicles winding their way up the mountainside. One of the newly-arrived soldiers crossed over, prompting a salute from the two with the mercenaries.
"At ease soldiers. Have you tested them?" the woman said in clipped tones - though she shared their accent, it was far less pronounced. The sergeant nodded. "Yes sir. They're clean."
The officer slid back her faceplate to reveal a broad face with pronounced cheekbones, almond shaped eyes and a piercing expression.
"Major Sorocan, 2/203rd.You're the mercenaries the CPA hired? Whatever they offered you, I doubt it was enough. You're lucky to be alive."
She turned to stare back at the ruined facility, squinting against the bitter wind. "If it wasn't for you this infestation could have grown out of hand. If you want to take that bus back to Chelez I'll have a drone track you until you're safely back in town. And if you have any trouble with the local rats, drop my name."
With that she nodded curtly to the mercenaries then turned on her heel, bellowing orders...
Kroma acknowledged the woman, before looking at Oscar, thankful to see that the little man had gotten out alive and mostly unscathed. Even when the situation looked most grim, the mage had stood by his side. It was an odd feeling; he wasn't often surprised by the capabilities of the meek, but perhaps he judged the magic-user a bit too harshly.
The Echo approached the bus, but stopped to ensure everyone else was ready to leave.
Kaveh did not say another word to Kroma or Seraphiel, he put his rifle down and away before he got back onto the bus. He was very disturbed by what he saw here today, and frankly just a bit more by his so called "colleagues" and their absolute disregard for life and the fact they needed to keep their handler alive to get paid in the first place. At the back of the bus he sat, away from the others and frankly planned on heading to the city after they got back, there will be more than enough people looking for doctors there.
A better shot at being helpful than this crapshoot.
Oscar got into the bus, fumbling with the keys before getting it started. Knowing the local angel would fly to the town, Oscar just got it moving at 30ish MPH down the snowy road.
“You know, Kaveh. Im very sorry that neeld had to die- especially that way. Seraphiel might have been able to save him, but between me and kroma well. You know what happened down there. It's strange that the army was not there first off.”
The ride back to town was surprisingly uneventful, although several times they saw IJN craft roaring overhead, their lights just visible through the gloomy blizzard, and once they passed a pair of wheeled vehicles trundling uphill.
Eventually they made it back to Chelez, where the offices of Director Whissel were closed, but even as they tried the door and began to wonder what to do next the rumble of tires through snow heralded her arrival in an ancient combustion-engine vehicle stained with rust. Bundled in a thick overcoat, she pushed past them to unlock the door and let them into the lobby, but no further.
"I heard what happened. Neeld was one of my best workers and you got him killed, you're lucky I'm giving you a damn cent! The bloody goblins leaned on me, said not to stiff you, so here you are."
She fumbled in her coat pockets and pulled out a binder, in which were several small prepaid chipcards. She handed one to each of the mercenaries.
"Those each contain your agreed fee of three hundred yen, plus a hazard bonus of three hundred extra. Now get out of my office." she snapped.
Kroma bowed respectfully, understanding that death would not he undone by shallow apologies. He decided it was best to let the past stay in the past, and look forward instead, to reporting his pyrrhic success to his superiors, but not before delivering his contact information to Oscar.
Seraphiel took her credit chip, glaring at the woman, then her golden eyes turning to Kroma. She spoke sternly as was her custom, but her tone softer than usual. The angelic woman battered with bruises, cuts, torn clothing, and her wings feathers ruffled. She had spent her time waiting for both the bus, and the lady by starting on her wings gently plucking her wings, and grooming them. But stopped shortly after their arrival.
"Kroma, I have use of you. I have a new conquest layed out before me, you will be well compensated if you join me. But I must get back to my companion, join me if you so wish."
She began walking, not flying as she learned from her flight here that it was not a pleasant experience. She would walk back to her vessel, holding her sword by the edgeless part of it's blade.
The bus ride back to Chelez was long and miserable for Kaveh, he did not really talk that much or at all really on the bus. Once they arrived back at the city Kaveh got off the bus last and headed up to the lobby with his coat bundled up around him, he felt upset that they managed to mess it up so much... Granted it likely would of ended worse any other way.
"We tried to do everything we could. I'm sorry."
He said to Whissel with a sincere sound of defeat, what he saw back there changed him, knowing what existed not even a few hours away can and will easily kill them all. Kaveh took his check and walked away and looked up and down Kroma and Seraphiel.
"Both of you are so full of youselves, you are above nothing."
With no further words the far flung doctor fully buttoned up his coat and gloves and headed out into the storm down the road.
The mage apologized to the man over Neelds death, explaining what had happened and why he could not be saved. Taking kromas contact details and asking for the recording of the encounter on his way out of town- hoping to submit the recording for his application to a school to become a real combat mage.