Chapter Two: Into the Maelstrom

[Purr]

(Wild Cards - T.A.S.C. team)

Elinor shrugged. "Well, ma'am, I'm hopin' our boys have gotten somewhat away from that entrance. If so, all them Zek-Zentraedi are focused on at least slightly the wrong place." She grinned at Iris's comment. "You're welcome, Iris! Glad you and yours like it. And yeah, our 'stubborn males' went in lookin' for some captured mecha-tanks of ours that we really don't want them Zek-Zentraedi to keep. The idea was, they find 'em, hop in, and drive 'em out and we'll all head home safe and happy."

Iris zipped forward until she came across a grassy field filled with dozens of trailer and temporary homes long since abandoned. The moon's illumination painted them a lonely ghost-white gray. The wind blew through empty windows and unclosed doors that occasionally banged against the walls of what some people used to call home. You had reached the north edge of Milton. Correction and query. The proper name for enemy element is Zeki-Zentraedi. Does Hall find corrections suitable or does she disapprove? Inquiring Scrath would like to know.

Shirley laughed. "Iris, did you just make a joke?"

Affirmative.

"Well, you're getting more interesting by the minute. Listen, let's set down in this trailer park and get 'Mistress' Amherst here into some proper armor, shall we?"

This is agreeable. We wish Mistress Neqel's protection in the utmost.

"All right, Cygnus Two and Three. Park and face outwards while we get our Meltrandi here into some gear here. Talk if you want, but watch our backs, you especially, Two. These trailers aren't exactly hard cover."

Iris slowed and set down in a spot with a great amount of concealment and outward visibility. Here, she looked and listened. In the far distance, booming like a hyperactive thundercloud could be heard from the west across the open ground outside Milton. Meanwhile, The Red Baroness in Guardian mode set up beside Toph's Ajax. Shirley popped her storage compartment and using the Valkyrie's "magic hands," moved the weapons and gear up to the top of Toph's cockpit. Shirley went back to monitoring her sensors and keeping an eye out. This would not be a great place to get caught by enemy ambush.

Spoiler: GM note for Epiphany

Epiphany Here, you can collect and select armor and gear for Neqel. Enjoy and put it all down on your character sheet. If you have any additional or unusual requests for gear, you can make them and I'll see what's fair for the team and the story. =)

 

[Epiphany]

Along for the ride, Neqel did what any enlisted soldier does in the presence of officers on a mission; sit down and shut up. She quietly wondered what a Traverser was but assumed she'd find out later, or not. Meltrandi weren't encouraged to curiosity. A lifetime living among the Micronians had amplified hers but the military situation reminded her of what she'd been bred to be so she remained quiet until Shirley made mention of her.

Neqel straightened in her seat, uncomfortable with either the leader of this mission or the alien prioritizing her safety over the success of the mission. "It's not necessary, ma'am," she said, speaking up only the once. And then if Shirley parked the unit anyway, she simply accepted the officer's choice and didn't waste time arguing it. The faster she armed and armored, the faster the unit could resume battle operations.

The booming in the distance was indicative of combat underway and Neqel hurried to equip the backup set available. Thankfully, the CBR Mark 2E Light Armor was nearly identical to her own and, given how often she wore it in field conditions, she was quite fast in strapping herself into it in a hurry. The IPP-5H Heavy Ion Pistol went into a holster after a cursory look. She'd rebalance the sights once they were underway.

"Ready, ma'am," Neqel said as soon as she could, tightening the safety harness.

To Toph, the Meltrandi said "You have your mother's figure," and there was an approving tone to the comment.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

From his prone position, Hercules knew that attempting to evade the incoming attack would be next to pointless, so he hunkered down and brought his arm shield up as best he might to protect his body from the strange alien creatures. He hoped it would be enough.

 

[Purr]

Cpl. Booty brought his arm-shield up too. Whatever was being spit at him was going to have to penetrate the arm-shield first, by Bob Marley!

THWACK!! THWACK!! THWACK!!

So one might imagine the surprise on all three tankers' faces when instead of causing damage, each of the tongues adhered to their shields! Like toads striking out at flies, the Wargoths snatched the first thing their tongues attached to. Once stuck, the beasts rooted themselves and tugged hard like fishermen reeling in a big catch, putting their considerable strength against that of each of the tankers in a surprise attempt to pull them off balance - and into their eager maws filled with hellish teeth!

Spoiler: Game Master note for all

Using the d20s you have chosen, each of your characters receives a Saving Throw based on your P.P. score to avoid being suddenly yanked off of your feet and dragged toward the pack.

Cap'n, because Hercules is prone and therefore not braced against anything, he receives a -2 penalty.
Sherwood, because Mario is a Tae Kwon Do artist, I am adding his +2 bonus to Maintain Balance to his roll to resist being pulled off of his feet.

Here are the die results:
Hercules: 13 +0 = 13.
Mario: 19 +7 = 26.
Fat Booty: 6 +3 = 9.

Mario was able to drop into a deep and wide "horse-riding stance" and brace himself; in doing so, he kept his balance. Using what leverage he could find on the floor, Hercules resisted being pulled perhaps in part because of his sheer size. Unsuccessful in catching either Wild Card, the Wargoths reeled their tongues back into their maws and charged on.

Booty, however, was not so lucky. The Wargoth's tongue stuck to his shield and yanked him off his feet. 'WHOOOAAH!" the big Jamaican yelled as he suddenly found himself flat on his back with a fine view of the shadow-crossed ceiling. But then his thoughts darkened further as he realized he was being pulled across the floor towards the Wargoth pack...

It became Hercules's turn to take action.

What does Herc do?

 

[Captain Hesperus]

The sudden tug of the creature's tongue surprised Hercules, but as the sticky appendage broke contact with his arm shield, he breathed a sigh of relief. This was short-lived as he saw Booty getting dragged toward another of the creatures. Thought and action came together and Hercules shifted his weapon and opened up on the beast that was reeling Booty in.
"Mario! Pour it on!", he roared over the powerful discharges of his own weapon.

 

[Purr]

FOOM!

Hercules's fiery blast erupted from his plasma cannon. The shot soared brightly down the shadow-filled corridor, past wailing Booty, and straight at the Wargoth whose outstretched tongue had toppled the warrior. The Wargoth saw the shot and quite unlike any typical Earth canine, it jumped aside in a trained fashion, evading the plasma blast. The bolt struck the wall at the junction and exploded violently. The distance between Booty and the Wargoth pack was thinning fast.

Mario's time to act had come again.

What does Mario do?

 

[Sherwood]

Mario tries to maintain his braced stance while taking aim at the 'hound' drawing Booty in. "Booty! Get ready! I'm taking a shot at your friend!" He fires his burst, hoping to take out the monster hauling in the large man.
4/6 shots remaining

 

[Purr]

(Wild Cards - T.A.S.C team)

Spoiler: Mood music

"Le Bel Age" by Pat Benatar. Because Benatar freakin' rocks, that's why. =)

Partial lyrics
There comes a time, when you should see things clear
Free from my innocence, there is no circumstance too severe
Only the need for us, for us to believe again
There is a time, temptation's on the run
Dreamer you've had your way
Soldier you've had your day, in the sun
Now it's time, oh it's time, for us to begin again

The booming in the distance was indicative of combat underway and Neqel hurried to equip the backup set available. Thankfully, the CBR Mark 2E Light Armor was nearly identical to her own and, given how often she wore it in field conditions, she was quite fast in strapping herself into it in a hurry. The IPP-5H Heavy Ion Pistol went into a holster after a cursory look. She'd rebalance the sights once they were underway.

"Ready, ma'am," Neqel said as soon as she could, tightening the safety harness.

Shirley was tense. This entire situation was not her idea of fun. Her A.T.A.C. team had been inside for too long without some kind of communication and with each waiting minute, the doubts, like grains falling inside a turned hourglass, began to pile on and on and on. This was supposed to be a base, not a starship! Iris had referred to it as an "Assault Scout." What the heck was that? The Zentraedi that had nearly taken over her world didn't have a vessel with that precise designation, or if they did, she certainly didn't remember it.

The only such vessel type that had popped in her head was the Zentraedi's Salan Scout Ship. So why not just call it a "scout ship"? The Californian surfer couldn't get her head around it and yet, something about her lack of an answer was really bugging her, not that the others needed to know that. This whole day already had well more than its share of surprises, thank you very much!

So it did not surprise her that she was surprised when she turned to see how far along Amherst was in suiting up only to find her finished. "Hey, Amherst," Mack's face rose from her instrumentation, "what do you remember right before you were---" Mack's eyes fell upon the fully-armored and armed Amherst getting back inside Muppet's Ajax. "Holy mackerel, you're fast!" Yep! This whole day and night was just one Twilight Zone episode after another...

What was it with Meltrandi? Shirley had never seen an ugly one before unlike the male Zentraedi. Some of those guys had faces like old bulldozers and shot-up tanks. And what was up with Amherst's figure? She appeared... kinda matronly?

Still, Amherst wasn't going to be of any use inside an Ajax. But a Valkyrie? That might be a different story...

As Neqel reached to tighten the harness in the Ajax, she and the others heard Shirley's voice over her veritech's loudspeakers. "Amherst! You feelin' up to bein' a gunner? Got an empty back seat here and four lonely cannons. You wanna chance to let out your inner and outer warrior?" Shirley's blue eyes were grinning. "Or if you've had too hard a day, best to take a chill in the backseat of Muppet's Ajax. What'll it be, chick?"

Spoiler: Epiphany and anyone interested

Pips, since Neqel has the Weapon Systems skill, Shirley is offering her the use of the Valkyrie's LLW-20 CIWS Lasers (4). Shirley is hoping Neqel has the skill (actually she's kind of betting with herself, actually). If Neqel accepts, I'll type out the stats of that weapon. However, you may be busy and not want Neqel to do anything but sit and think and... whatever else bored Meltrandi might do. Which seat would you like Neqel in for the time being?

Whichever it is, I am going to keep the story going here instead of pausing. Keep the momentum going, you might say. =)

Once Amherst made her decision and acted on it, Shirley ordered their flight up and moving again. "You know the drill, Wild Cards. Follow that insect!" At the touch of her hands and feet, the Red Baroness lifted off again, her foot/engines blowing dust and bits of brown and green debris in every direction just like Bruce Leanne's and Muppet's birds. Tons and tons of super-steel armed with enough space-age weaponry to destroy Milton a few times over responded to their every command. In moments, the four were rocketing over the dirty, dusty grasses and forests, leaving Milton behind.

Shirley spared a glance westward. Miles away, she saw lights. Particle beams in blue flashing, red laser blasts searing into the black night sky. Too far to see auto-cannons or missile-fire, though. Something heavy was going on down there. Shirley saw the blasts of the Scavengers fly up into the night as if they were fighting a living thing. Then she saw the night fight back...

"Wild Cards! Eyes nine o'clock high. Look far!"

Unnatural lights in the night descended from above. Volleys of fire like small trios of comets soared down from the sky and toward where the Wild Cards A.T.A.C. crew had gone. Yet, nothing was on your instrumentation. Radar showed a clear and quiet sky. Back where the burning sign still burned, it was anything but clear and quiet. No one among you could see just what was doing the shooting, for you were simply too far away.

Iris flew on, undistracted and unbothered.

Shirley wanted to ask Iris just exactly what was going on, but instead she found herself updating the Colonel and everyone on the radio. Not far ahead, Iris flew downward over a well-hidden patch of ground in the forest. Inside a naturally well-camouflaged swath of trees and hill, you saw flat ground and blackness. That is, until you moved closer.

Iris entered this wide copse of trees and the blackened ground it surrounded. Your transformable machines descended into the ground... only to discover there was no ground but a vast, wide pit blown out of the earth from beneath. Large pieces of trees, dozens of blasted roots, and upturned earth revealed a tunnel leading down. As you followed, Mack ordered. "Whoa. So this is it. Cygnus Two, pop and stay in Battloid. Any engine noise from any other mode and they'll hear us for sure." She continued. "And keep your lights off down here. Go low-light until you can't see, then infrared."

Here, Iris paused.

Success! This is the entrance Our Beloved Queen discovered - a tunnel approximately three miles long. It leads directly to the hull of the Assault Scout. Query: Shall we? Iris extended a pincer in welcome as her rainbow-dragonfly wings neatly condensed and disappeared into the bulbous mass on her lower back. Her eyes seemed to shine a glint of green, easy and pleasing to the eye.

"Cygnus Three," Mack called Muppet, "you're the smallest so you're first on point." The humongous Zentraedi-sized opening yawned before you...

... and it looked far from inviting.

 

[Psychie]

Toph nods and gives a quick reply, "Copy that, Mack. Going in, stealth mode. Passive sensors only. I'll do my best to stick to the left side of the path, to give the next one behind me a clear line of fire forward. Moving out!"

 

[Epiphany]

Neqel raised an eyebrow at Shirley's exclamation. "Holy mackerel?" she repeated, feeling the phrase out. It wasn't one she'd heard before. The use of the word 'holy' suggested a divine oath, though. What had the Lieutenant seen in her that prompted an appeal on God? It couldn't be simple speed, could it?

Given a choice between being a passenger and a gunner, though, Neqel's answer was immediate. "Ma'am, my inner and outer warrior is ready to dispense ordinance against the enemy." She quirked a smile and added, "However hard my day has been, it's not going to be as hard as theirs is about to be."

"Sorry for not staying with you, Toph," she said to her 'niece', and her smile grew to full affection. "I would dearly love to see how adept Zyorna's daughter has become in battle. You make us proud!" For a surreal moment, exposure to Micronian culture and a decade and a half of exposure to children mingled with Meltrandi admiration. The result was something no one especially Neqel expected. Halfway out of the cockpit, the blue-haired woman leaned over and affectionately ruffled the younger woman's pink hair, much as any Mom might do to show their fondness for a kid.

A second later, Neqel's cheeks grow red. She withdrew her hand, as if Toph's hair were on fire. Her mouth opened several times as she tried to formulate an apology, a response, something just say anything.

Then she just descended from the Ajax cockpit as fast as greased lightning, bolted her way over to Lieutenant Shirley's Valkyrie and clambered straight up for the second seat and its promised guns. Up close...yes, Neqel's definitely in fine fighting trim but three children have done a degree of irreversible damage to the pertness of the bosom and a once perfectly trim backside.

Neqel dropped heavily into her seat, strapped in, sighted in the cannons and said "Ready, ma'am!"

 

[Kaerri]

Correction and query. The proper name for enemy element is Zeki-Zentraedi. Does Hall find corrections suitable or does she disapprove? Inquiring Scrath would like to know.

Elinor grinned. All that and a sense of humor! "Neither. Sorry, Iris, I just got the word wrong. Zeki-Zentraedi." She said it experimentally, making sure she'd gotten it right this time.

Wild Cards! Eyes nine o'clock high. Look far!"

Elinor looked up and over, eyes narrowing as she searched the sky. "I see it, ma'am, but where the heck is it coming from?" She double-checked her own radar and long-range scans, shaking her head at the whole lotta nothin' that showed there.

Whoa. So this is it. Cygnus Two, pop and stay in Battloid. Any engine noise from any other mode and they'll hear us for sure." She continued. "And keep your lights off down here. Go low-light until you can't see, then infrared."

"Yes'm." Elinor slipped her Valkyrie into Guardian and her visuals to low-light, then took her place as rearguard. Keeping half an eye on proceedings in front of her, where the others were, she set the rest of her attention behind them all, making sure nothing could sneak up on them that way.

 

[Purr]

Wild Cards - A.T.A.C. Team

Mario tries to maintain his braced stance while taking aim at the 'hound' drawing Booty in. "Booty! Get ready! I'm taking a shot at your friend!" He fires his burst, hoping to take out the monster hauling in the large man.

Mario aimed and squeezed the trigger again, this time at the alien canine-thing now trying to reel Booty in.

ZZZZZAM!

His aim was true! His quintet of laser bolts, near-blinding in the chaotic corridor, lit up the battlefield. The Wargoth attached to the yelling Jamaican attempted to sidestep, but failed. Mario's laser cannon fried the creature's face and side, but otherwise caused the least amount of damage the cannon was capable of causing.

 

[Purr]

Flat on his back but filled with deadly resolve, Cpl. Booty sat up and aimed his Mk. 25 automatic grenade launcher at the pack of toothy alien beasts. "You wanna eat sometin'?! Eat dis!!"

Sighting with an expert's precision through his infrared scope, the armorer let go with another six-round burst of high explosive grenades. It sounded a lot like this.

Spoiler: Video is Safe For Work

Somehow... some way... Booty's entire volley missed from but 20 feet away. The volley flew down the corner between them all. The explosions of the detonating grenades rocked the ventilation shaft, but after they were done, all of you noticed - the snarling Zentraedi dogs stood unharmed save for Mario's laser blasts.

Gleefully, the Wargoth attached to Booty reeled him in. Despite Fat Booty's incredible strength, it was no match for the mega-damage canine-thing. He was dragged across the floor like a toy. "AAAAH!" He was pulled into a hellish frenzy of teeth and muscle where a ferocious melee ensued, one he had no chance of winning alone. Booty parried some of the bites, but others got in, fangs sinking into his heavy armor and rending it.

One thing was for certain - Booty would not last long.

The time came again for Hercules to act. What does he do?

 

[Sherwood]

Mario calls out, "Booty! Quit screwing around and hit your friggin' targets! Damn!"

 

[Purr]

Booty did not respond, he was far too busy not screwing around, trying to frantically save not only his life but those of his fellow tankers. His two misses were as if a bad stroke of luck had befallen him at the worst possible time.

Some soldiers have said it; when the Grim Reaper comes a'knocking, he is coming to take someone with him. And since when did Death care about good or bad luck?

 

[Purr]

Wild Cards - T.A.S.C. Team

Spoiler: Instrumental Mood Music

"Main Title" from the Predator movie (not from the soundtrack). Music by Alan Silvestri. Good military stuff. =)

Spoiler: Game Master note for all but especially for Kaerri

I goofed. Valkyrie veritechs are perfectly able to get around without the use of their jet thrusters. I guess I was thinking too much of the Ajax (helicopter) Guardian mode which is impossible to move in without tremendous amounts of noise?

Consider Shirley's command to be either "Battloid" or "Guardian;" whichever Elinor feels more comfortable with. =)

Toph nods and gives a quick reply, "Copy that, Mack. Going in, stealth mode. Passive sensors only. I'll do my best to stick to the left side of the path, to give the next one behind me a clear line of fire forward. Moving out!"

Mack replied, "Do it to it, Muppet! This is your show now." She added, "Iris? Stay behind Toph and in front of me."

Acknowledged.

The cavernous, lightless hole in the earth stretched far and wide. The ground, walls, and ceiling of the tunnel were all equally-charred by what could only have been mega-damage flame; lots and lots of mega-damage flame. It made for a perfect underground route for the Zentraedi.

Using infrared, Toph was able to note boot-prints by the dozens coming and going back and forth through the tunnel. The route was well-traveled.

The tunnel wound only a little. Most of it was a straight shaft. Soon, it was easy to put up a good pace for it had appeared that the Zentraedi had not bothered to set alarms or mines here. Only pitch-black earth greeted Toph's eyes for about three entire miles. Then the tunnel came to an end. An incredibly-strong-looking wall barred your way here. Part of the wall contained giant Zentraedi lettering, incomplete due to the angle, but simple enough to comprehend - Iris had told the truth - this was a hull of a starship.

About 200 feet behind Toph and Iris, Mack hit the control for the Red Baroness to enter Guardian mode. The machine shrunk and widened, its protoculture-powered frame transforming smoothly. Then Mack's black GU-11 gun pod was moving left and right, up and down along with her wary gaze.

"Cygnus Three? What'cha got?"

Inside the wall, a wide circular door closed off what appeared to be one massive airlock. Toph noticed an odd computer immediately beside the doorframe. Its screen and keypad was embedded neatly at about chest-level for a male 40-foot-tall alien.

Iris came to a halt, her pincers open. Query: Does Toph Kirin wish This One to input the command to open the airlock? Our valiant Queen awaits inside.

 

[Psychie]

Toph looks about and signals back to Elinor and Mack. "Iris is ready to open the airlock. Everyone, prepare yourselves to meet the Queen. Iris, go ahead and cycle the hatch." She stands ready with her pulse cannon on her arm, just in case of a hostile Zentraedi reception.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Hercules knows he has only one chance to save his squadmate's ass now that the alien beast had him in it's maw. He couldn't risk a headshot, so he switched his aim tolower torso and unleashed another salvo of plasma at the creature. He prayed to any passing god who might be listening to guide his shots and save Booty.

 

[Purr]

Hercules lined up his shot and squeezed the trigger. FOOM! His plasma cannon sounded. Somehow, the big Greek's shot struck the ceiling with a flaming explosion instead of his intended target.

The time for Mario to act had come again. What does Mario do?

 

[Sherwood]

"Damn! Hold on, Booty!" Mario fires another burst into the beastie that has its claws on his team mate, hoping that this time he will kill the thing and save Booty from the literal jaws of death.
3/6 shots left

 

[Purr]

Mario trusted to his training and all the skills he had trained toward perfecting. Squeezing the trigger, the young tanker let go his burst of five laser blasts aimed right at the Wargoth's torso. In reaction, the Wargoth slipped off to one side in a practiced dodge... and Mario's bolts barely missed it. They but singed the canine-thing's hide and did not deter the beast in the least from continuing its attack on Booty.

The pack continued their attack on prone Booty.

 

[Purr]

Spoiler: Mood music

"Three Little Birds (Everything Gonna Be All Right)" by Bob Marley


Partial lyrics:
Don't worry about a thing
Because every little thing gonna be all right

The melee was a savage sight of flailing limbs, wicked curses, and bestial growls from every beast involved. Fat Booty, prone on the ventilation shaft floor fought loudly and barbarically with the pack of five Zentraedi war hounds. Booty felt a grim hand of sorts touch his shoulder. He knew it was time. He didn't want it to be, but that was the way it was.

Booty also knew for certain that these damned dog-things would not stop with him; they would continue on to Hercules, Mario, the new man, and even the MechaKitten. The pack was going to kill them all or be killed. Booty was only going to be the first of his team to die. Whether the Wild Cards made it or not, Maximus Oceanus Booty, knew he had two things he had to do.

With one hound on each leg, two on his torso, and one on his left arm past his shield, Booty reached into his gear and threw something at Hercules. It spun through the air and landed near the big Greek. Hercules was able to grab it if he wanted to. It was Booty's smartphone, the one he had used while atop the Zentraedi corpse in the first room they had entered.

"Hercules, mon! You saved me beloved Reggie! Promise me you makin' sure somebody be takin' care of me Reggie!!"

Then despite his frantic parrying, kicking, and bashing, the Wargoths bit down. One attacked with a bite that was critically dealt. Booty felt his left arm rip and tear away from his body. A moment later, another bite from another Wargoth took his left foot. The pain was beyond agonizing. He screamed in anger. But he let the pain drive him. If these were to be his last moments, he would teach these damned Zentraedi dogs a lesson and save his team at the same time. There was no way in hell the Big Jamaican was about to let the Zentraedi get someone else!

Booty roared. "Da bombaklat! Don't you doggies know da Three Great Rules of da Universe?!" He tore at the ammunition belt of his Mk. 25 automatic grenade launcher. The big long belt of rounds fell to his feet - some seventy rounds of mega-damage high explosive ordnance.

"Da moon go 'round de Earth..." He looked once more back at his fellow tankers. That wild-eyed look told Mario and Hercules but one thing. "GET BACK!! FIRE IN THE HOLE!!"

"...da Earth go 'round da sun..." With his remaining arm, Fat Booty aimed the Mk. 25 point-blank at his long pile of ammunition at his feet. This was a shot he was not going to miss.

Teeth clenched and bloodied, dogs all around him and over him, he squeezed the trigger with all his might. "...AN' AIN'T NO BOOTY LIKE--"

TOOMP-TOOMP-TOOM--BUHWHOOOOOOOM!!

The dozens of blasts that erupted blew Booty and all five Wargoths to smithereens. It blew holes in the ventilation shafts and set off alarms all over.

Then the shockwave hit...

Mario for the third time in two days was flung off his feet like a SmartCar in a hurricane. He sailed backwards, struck something hard, and continued to sail until he was skidding across the floor far from the grate where "Buddy" had been cutting. Hercules, though prone, was also no match for this series of blasts. His great frame was blown across the floor like a balloon in a wind tunnel and through the hole "Buddy" had been cutting through. Both men lay flat on their backs, reeling, dazed and confused. Their senses swam and drowned in sensation then swam again. Long moments passed when neither brain nor muscle seemed to work.

And yet... no gruesome Wargoths came charging to take them. Hercules and Mario woke and found they were looking at each other. There was a raging fire nearby, crackling madly, a blaring alarm nearby, and a strange high-pitched sound that repeated that neither of them could recognize.

As their wits returned, it was clear what had happened. Booty's final act blew them through the opening "Buddy" had nearly finished. They were beyond the grate and could now see it was an orange wall of fire on the side the Wild Cards had just been in. "Buddy" too was rising from a crumpled heap of limbs. Ever-quiet, "Buddy" stood and looked long at the blaze. Then he righted himself and his hand rose slowly by his temple in salute. There his hand stayed.

"Mew?" MechaKitten's high-pitched voice called and called from the safe side of the flaming grate. He stood on his back paws, his forepaws leaning against the warm superstructure. "Meeew?" He kept calling. But the one he was calling for did not come. In his stead, there was a raging inferno, tall and violent that took up the entire corridor. Going back this way was out of the question for the A.T.A.C. Wild Cards.

There were loud voices calling down the corridor too. Male voices yelling in Zentraedi. "Wargoths! Return! Return with your kills and report! Wargoths!"

But besides the awful fire and the alarms, there was only one sound that repeated forth.

"Mewww?"

 

[Purr]

Wild Cards - T.A.S.C. Team

Not long after that very moment, the Wild Cards' squad channel lit up like fire with a sudden flood of sounds, voices and movement mostly.

"Noo! Daddy, nooo!!" The anguished voice in the background belonged to a man, a young man perhaps. It was hard to tell if it was anyone the Wild Cards recognized. The second voice, however, clearly belonged to Hitomi.

"Come here, come here! Hold me! I'm with you, Reggie!"

The voices faded quickly into the background. There was the sound of a door being slammed. Then followed a mad rustling of movement and the sound of a third voice and this one was angry. It belonged to the Professor and the lion in him was out and roaring with rage.

"Cygnus Team, Fat Gandalf!! Pick up, goddammit!!"

Such was his urgency that Shirley came over the comm and replied before she realized she was doing it. "Cygnus One! Go ahead?"

"Are you in combat?"

"Negative!"

"Then move your people to safety and listen!"

Immediately, Shirley gave the order. "Muppet, hold it and watch that door! Elinor, Amherst, keep guard. Iris, don't open that door yet!"

The great insect paused, her finger-like digits but inches away from the control pad Toph had spotted. Acknowledged. Even the alien from worlds beyond turned to listen.

Mack maneuvered the Red Baroness to the opposite side of the tunnel so that Toph and Mack were facing the airlock should it suddenly open while Elinor continued to watch their backs. Mack positioned her Valkyrie in Guardian mode in a way that gave Neqel the widest view and field of fire should they get jumped. "Cygnus Team is clear. Go ahead, Fat Gandalf!" Though prepared for battle, nothing could have prepared 1st Lt. Shirley Mackenzie for the words the Wild Cards heard Professor Stein say next.

"Corporal Booty is dead!"

The news struck Shirley like a physical slap in the face. How did this happen? How could the Professor know this from over 50 miles away in the safety of Eglin base? Shirley felt herself stammering. "Wh-- Whu-- Whaaat?!"

The Professor replied. "That crying you just heard is Reggie! Something in his soul has told him. Now remember - you are not normal people, you are Traversers! If Reggie believes his father is dead, I can only look back when someone close to me passed away without my being there. It has happened to me - I just knew! Now it is happening to Reggie!"

"But how did Booty..."

"I don't know that, Cygnus One! But I have come to a terrible conclusion. The A.T.A.C. team may be lost! Unlike Reggie, we have no other Traversers that are close and dear to Zuko or Papadopolis! Do you understand? They do not have a Reggie to tell us if they are dead or alive!"

"Christ on a surfboard!" Shirley slapped her helmet.

"What is your position?"

Shirley double-checked the team's position and rattled off exact map coordinates. "We're just outside the Zentraedi Assault Scout. We... we have access to an airlock and Iris knows the code to get in. We were... We were..." the weight of Booty's death began to descend on her like a wrecking ball in motion.

Shirley was at a total loss. She knew she needed time to recover. Not only she but the rest of her team minus maybe Amherst who probably didn't know Booty and was Meltrandi anyway. If anyone knew death, it was they.

"We... Listen, Gandalf, I need a minute..." Shirley turned to the rest of the team. She gulped and sounded lost. "Guys? What are you feelin', guys?"

 

[Kaerri]

Spoiler: Response to GM note a few posts back

Elinor's Valkyrie will be in Guardian mode until otherwise noted or ordered. I've adjusted my previous post.

Elinor's jaw dropped open. What had happened to the other team? Sure, this was a dangerous mission, but they hadn't been gone that long. She shook her head, trying to get hold of herself while her ears took in the rest of what was being said. By the time Shirley had turned back to the team, she'd manage to get her shock under control -- outwardly, at least, and enough for her brain to keep moving. "Ma'am, that sucks big time. But with the status of our other boys unknown..." She shook her head and said firmly, "It doesn't change anythin' for us. Unless Iris can tell us more, all we know is that one of the team is down. Our original mission is still up in the air, and our other two may still need us. Now more than ever, with Booty down." She glanced away from the vid pickup for a moment, then looked it square in the "eye." "We can't stop now. Not on what we know right now."

 

[Sherwood]

Mario shakes his head, trying to get the ringing out of his ears from the massive blast going off right in his face. "Ow! Damn, I am not getting paid enough to keep doing this.... Wait! Booty! No!" He scrabbles to his feet and looks on with horror at the burning mass of Wargoths and the remains of their former comrade. "No! NO!" There was no way for the big Jamaican to have survived the explosion. Feeling numb with shock, Mario drops down to his knees, his fists clenched in anger. "God. Damn. Those. Fucking. Zentraedi! I'll see them all dead for this!" His eyes blur as tears well up in them, but no matter how much he wanted to break down and have a good cry, they are all in extreme danger still and they have a mission to accomplish.

With an angry growl, he gets back to his feet. Turning to 'Buddy', he asks, "I don't blame you for this, but you will pardon me if I am less than happy at the moment. Who are you, and what the hell are you doing in here?"