Futuristic To Never Question [EnkoKasumi]

[Lorsh]

Elise's Inventory
-Chainbike helmet & pads [Worn]
-Carrier uniform [Worn]
-Carrier radio [Belt]
-Carrier chainbike [Vehicle]
-Unknown package [Vehicle storage]
-Your Citizen ID [Pocket]
-Your Ration Card [Pocket]
-Apricot Envoys ID [Pocket]
-$20.00 certs [Pocket]



IC below

To Never Question

You are Elise North, a professional carrier for Apricot Envoys, a private delivery company focusing on inter-urbzone delivery. Your residence lies in the City of Auran, one of the outer urbzones of Sanctaria. There, your husband works as a wetware technician in one of the civil administration buildings. You are wearing the uniform of an Apricot Envoys carrier, including some chainbike pads and a helmet.

You are on Motorway 9, one of the armored highways between Auran Urbzone and Libera Urbzone. The long strip cuts through some of the most dangerous parts of the Gloom, or the areas that have remained a wasteland many years after Ashfall and the Great Apocalypses. Soldiers from the army have set up machine gun nests and automatic cannons at certain points along the highway, as well as foot patrols to shoot and kill any mutant wildlife or outsiders that attempt to approach the protected roads.

You have been tasked to deliver a heavy, unknown metal box to an address in the outskirts of the City of Libera. Its contents are unmarked, and you have been specifically ordered to not look at what is inside of the package, which is a slightly odd thing to be reminded of. You are about a half hour into the normally one-and-a-half hour journey. As usual, you do not see very many civilian vehicles on the road, despite how large this highway is. Transit is very restrictive, and many civilians have no real reason to travel between the urbzones. Mostly, you only see civilian worker transports, supply trucks, and "battle buses" carrying soldiers and materiel. Because of this, you have plenty of room to ride your chainbike. The wind feels cool on your face, although the outside air smells slightly dirty due to the pollutants emitting from the nearby cities.

As you are on the road, you see a fleet of distant planes out of the corner of your eye. They appear to be flying in the direction of the Auran Urbzone. Before long, sirens begin to blare along the road, and you hear the voice of someone speaking into your earpiece.

"Attention all delivery personnel who are currently abroad, we have reason to believe that there is enemy aerial activity at the home branch. Do not return to the city today."

​

 

[ArcticFox]

"Where the hell am I supposed to go then!" Elise shouted to no one in particular. She had a job to finish and wanted it get over with quickly so she could take a bath and relax, before her husband came come.

Husband, it was still an odd word on her tongue. He was a man forced upon her just like she was upon him. They gave their best to keep things civil between them, but went little beyond that. It was a fresh marriage and they were not much further from strangers still. No one could expect them to get on with things as soon as that farce of a wedding was over. She did not care for the man and she expected the same of him, but she had nothing in particular against him. None of them had much choice in the matter. Perhaps once they got acquainted they would both get used to the married life.

Her job did not leave her much time to socialise anyway. She was away too often, because in Sanctaria someone always had something to send. She did not like her job at all. It provided her a false sense of freedom once she was on the open road. False, because the road was not really open, it had a fence on both sides and too many soldiers around. She hated that feeling that someone was always watching her. It was the same in the city as it was on the road.

When the announcement came through the earpiece, she stopped her bike and moved to the side of the road. She did not have anywhere to go except back to Libera. But, first, she would like to see what exactly was happening. Perhaps the soldiers on highway would know something. She approached the closest of the outposts, trying to wave one of them to look her way. She did not want to approach them too much, in case they were trigger happy, as soldiers often were in her experience.

 

[Lorsh]

You pull your chainbike to the side of the motorway, and dismount before approaching the closest patrol outpost, which is thankfully nearby. You reach it after a minute or so of walking, having to cross over to the other side of the road before doing so. Currently, you have a decent view of the outpost from here. It is situated by the tall fence, and has a few automatic cannons mounted onto the structure. A few utility vehicles and trucks are parked nearby, and you see around a dozen or so Sanctarian troopers watching the planes in the distance. Presumably, more of them are inside of the outpost building.

You are approached by a soldier carrying a rifle. "What's your business here, compatriot?" he inquires. His features look young, and his eyes are suspicious. 'Compatriot' was a term used in a similar fashion to 'comrade'.

 

[ArcticFox]

"Good day." Elise greeted politely. "I am a carrier, tasked with delivering an item to Libers Urbzone. I have just received notice of enemy planes heading toward Auran. Apparently it is not safe to return to. I just wanted to see if you guys have more information than me. Do you think it is a situation that will be resolves soon, or should I be ready to delay my return home, for a while?" She was not yet worried by the sight of the planes, she was more annoyed with the inconvenience caused by this event and especially the delay of her down time.

 

[Lorsh]

[Sorry for the wait!]

MUSIC

"You should wait until the all-clear is given, compatriot," the soldier simply tells you. "The reports of enemy saturation bombers have been confirmed. The attack has most likely already begun, so you should probably complete your assignment and remain in Libera Urbzone until it is safe to return back," he says. The attack on Auran raises questions about the safety of your husband, but he has survived these types of raids before, and knows where to seek shelter. The residentiary he lives in has a bomb shelter in the courtyard of the complex.



Some commotion is heard, and some soldiers begin to look over towards the fence. In the distance, some parachutes appear to be opening up. Even more alarms begin to go off as troopers exit the outpost, heading down the stairs and positioning themselves behind sandbags.

"Get to cover!" the soldier hollers as a pair of whirring, floating aircraft emerge from a hidden spot nestled in the nearby hills, possibly having been positioned there in order to launch an attack to buy the paratroops enough time to land. You've seen enemy planes before, but never hovercraft.
​

 

[ArcticFox]

Well, that certainly sent the alarm bells ringing in Elise's head. She ducked to cover, sticking close to the soldiers. She wanted desperately to get to her bike and be on her way, to seek shelter in the Libera Urbzone, but she was afraid to stick her neck out of the cover.

So the danger was real. Her husband was on his own inside the attacked city. Hopefully he would find cover, Elise did not know the man that good, but she wished him no harm. Perhaps she could get in contact somehow once she got to Libera. But first, she needed to get onto her chainbike safely.

 

[Lorsh]

The Moorean hovercraft begin to strafe the Sanctarian soldiers, blowing several troopers who could not make it to cover quickly enough apart with their chainguns. After they have turned around and are coming back for a second strafing run, the turrets mounted on top of the outpost building open fire, shooting down one of the crafts and causing it to smash into the middle of the road, causing a breach in the fence. It also looks like the wreckage has blocked the road; you're not sure how you'd get your chainbike around it.

The second strafing run thankfully does not touch you, but you receive an eyeful of dirt from the rounds kicking up on the ground nearby. "Bastards!" a soldier is heard screaming. A rocket is fired at the second hovercraft, causing it to explode in a spectacular display of energy and fire, before smashing down and exploding a second time in the wasteland.



You cannot see very many parachutes anymore; most have already landed. Tiny figures are approaching in the distance, weaving behind the cover of rocks, craters and dead trees. Their numbers appear far greater than that of the soldiers stationed at the outpost, especially with the casualties that were just inflicted.

The outpost building appears to offer some cover, but you're not sure what will happen if the soldiers here are overrun by the enemy paratroops. Alternatively, you could try to head to Auran (on the wrong side of the highway), or head into the wasteland. Moving past the hovercraft blocking the road would be rather dangerous due to the possibility of a second explosion, and you would be forced to go on foot from there if you made it past.​

 

[ArcticFox]

Elise covered her hands, shielding her eyes from debris. Dirt was one thing, but a stray shard of metal or glass was quite another. She hurried to get to the outpost, not wanting to leave the group of soldiers. She was not about to head into the wasteland on her own or risk running for her bike or toward the city. The safest spot for her currently was in the outpost and if that got overrun, she would think about what to do next in that case.

 

[Lorsh]

You manage to move away from the sandbags, and duck behind the solid foundation of the outpost's structure. You've now lost sight of the approaching posthuman soldiers in the distance, but you still have view of the Sanctarian Army troops as they rush to defensive positions and begin to open fire. A heavy machine gun is carried out of the outpost and is deployed behind one of the sandbag walls, and begins to chatter once the belt of bullets is put in place. This seems to be one of the only forms of automatic firepower at the outpost's disposal, as the rest of the soldiers are armed with bolt-rifles.

A deafening explosion is heard in the front part of the outpost building as small parts of metal debris are catapulted in several directions, although none of them hit you, thankfully. The paratroopers might have fired a rocket at one of the turrets, possibly. Several Sanctarian troops have fallen, and many more of them seem to be pinned down.

Order seems to be breaking down. "We gotta get the fek outta here," one of the troopers shouts.

"Stay in positions!" hollers another.

View attachment 410037

 

[ArcticFox]

Elise was not feeling rather panicked. Trying her best to control herself, she took a deep breath and examined her situation. The enemy troops were heading for Auran. She would not go there then, not until this was sorted out. She hoped it would be sorted out soon. Her chainbike was a way off and difficult to get to, blocked by the fence, but she still needed to get to Libera. It was time to get away from the soldiers, as the outpost was about to be overrun.