IC: E-i-E - Ardent Emancipation - Page 5

Major · 10-26-2012, 06:41 AM

As the Red Acklays gathered around and the head count was called, Kelaeon clenched his fist. "Something is using this labyrith to try and pick us off, I doubt someone just got lost." Kelaeon warned the Red Acklays. "Pick a partner or two, and constantly maintain visual contact with them. Call out any strange sightings, best to be too cautious than too carefree, but we need to keep moving." Kelaeon said, "As much as I'd prefer to stay, this is no longer just us and is a race. We are on a timer and failing the missing isn't an option." He says motioning the group to keep moving.

With a sigh, he lifted his comlink.

"You check a pulse, Ice? Not sure how he did it, but I'd be willing to bet two thousand credits it's him. And I don't take bets usually." Kelaeon states.

At Graff's voice, Kelaeon replies as he walks, "I will again repeat myself, we have a new enemy in the prison who is already moving in toward the doctor. Each second we wait is a second we are losing. I recommend once you get the chance, you re-establish visual contact with us. We are spearheading out way forward and will be dealing with hostiles and security as well as moving slowly so it shouldn't be too hard." Kelaeon says trying to keep the annoyance at bay. "Wrapping up a few droids shouldn't take too long so I highly doubt we'd get too far ahead that you can't catch up. Better to spearhead to at least give a small speed advantage and try and keep a safe path for the rest of you. On that note, there is a labyrith up ahead on the docking bay and I suspect something is inside. Make sure everyone has a partner or two to maintain eye contact on them at all times. If you see 'Wheezer' as the group called him, good. But I suspect he is dead and not the priority as the doctor is."

Thundercracker · 10-26-2012, 09:07 AM

Ice
"Sorry, I was too busy trying to get away from Mastigo to check the pulse of the guy whose brains were spattered all over the floor," Ice replies, "You're on, if you can prove it's the same givin I killed, and he's not a clone, or a zombie, or a droid, or anything else, the credits are yours."

Ice opens a private comm channel to Graff.

Graff:

Spoiler

Noedig · 10-26-2012, 09:32 AM

Jarik was silent for a long moment, weighing his options. Stumbles wasn't wrong, cold as his logic may be. The fact was the doctor was priority, and they were expendable. The older soldiers would understand that, they'd been around long enough to know the score. The younger ones would raise a stink, but they'd follow orders. He switched his comm to the sergeants channel.

"Hammer, Crash here. We need to catch up with Knight Kel, and we can't bring our dead with us. Call in a CASVAC, and you and the Banshees ride it back up. I'm declaring you combat ineffective due to loss of personnel. I know you still want to fight, but doctrine says no and I'm not going to argue with you. How copy, over?"

Felhammer · 10-26-2012, 11:37 AM

Hammer sighs as she nods, fully understanding military protocol. Momma Bear, however, rushes straight for Jarik. She latches her meaty paws onto the Lieutenant's shoulders lifts him off the ground and screams, <NO! I WANT TO KILL THESE KARKERS! I WANT TO KILL THEM ALL! THEY MURDERED MY FRIENDS AND NOW I WANT TO MURDER THEM! DON'T SEND US AWAY, SIR! DON'T!>

Meanwhile Kel, Jax and the Aklays agree to the new plan. As they wind their way through the maze, two of the troopers go missing. Jax hears a call for help and so peels off from the group to investigate. He rushes backward, retracing his steps. He finds a large, dark hole where there was once none. All he can do is shake his head as he peers down the five meter hole. Brains and Lurk triggered an laser tripwire trap that opened up a trap door that lead down a deep hole, filled with jagged scrap metal spikes. Both of their legs are pierced, neither can walk.

Noedig · 10-26-2012, 12:53 PM

Jarik sighed as he dangled from the wookiee's hands. He'd expected this. He was more tired than angry at this point, and so kept his tone level. Momma Bear was very attatched to the members of her squad, and it was only natural a wookiee would demand vengeance.

"I know. Believe me, I know. But look at yourself; you're holding your superior officer by the scruff his neck, in direct defiance of his orders. You're angry, that's fine, I understand. But I gave you an order, and you will follow that order, trooper. Now put me down, before either of us does something stupid. Please."

Philistine · 10-26-2012, 01:42 PM

Ice:

Spoiler

Graff watches the confrontation between Jarik and the Wookie with some concern, surreptitiously thumbing the selector on his blaster pistol to Stun. Maybe he could drop the big hairball before she tore the Lieutenant limb from limb, if it came to that. Maybe he couldn't. hopefully he wouldn't have to find out.

Major · 10-26-2012, 02:21 PM

Hearing the call for help, Kelaeon nods and beckons the troops backwards. Just because everyone was expendable didn't mean they'd needlessly be thrown away. As he got near Jax he looked down and cursed. "Frak, on the upside we know the problem now. We need to bypass this labyrinth somehow, triggering all these traps will just cause an early death for more than possible. Had it been a hostile target it could have been killed and moved on." He states.

He picks up his comlink, "Be advised, the scouting team has discovered that the labyrinth has laser trip wires that will cause you to fall onto metal spikes. Unless you have a way to detect that, I'd recommend working on trying to bypass the labyrinth." He states.

"Any of you with utility belts get out the liquid cable dispensers and start climbing to the top. Those without give me a call out so we can get you loaned one or up there with the Force." He states as he fires his up to the top of the crate, "Wait till I've gotten up in order to make sure it's not a trap..." He says saber drawn and at the ready, if whoever had set up these traps had been trying to kill everyone, he expected another trap on top of these crates.

Felhammer · 10-26-2012, 07:34 PM

The Acklays and Jax follow Kel up on top of the crates. From this vantage point they can see hordes upon hordes of traps of various makes and models have been strewn out across the maze. Thankfully, it appears the trap layers were not worried about rigging the tops of the containers. As you rush about, you spot lots of corpses, many of them beaten, mangled and gnarled. Many of the bodies appear to have suffered egregious wounds far before they entered the labyrinth...

All of you make it to the end of the maze and find yourselves at the beginnings to two spiral staircases. The right one leads to the elevator, the left one leads to an unmarked hallway...

Kel can once more sense the foul chuckling of his dastardly opponent in his mind.

Felhammer · 10-26-2012, 07:36 PM

Momma Bear drops Jarik and looks him square in the eye and whispers (as best a Wookiee can), <If you and your men don't make it out of here alive, I am stealing a nuke and making sure no one will ever come here again.> With that said, she rounds up her fellow soldiers and walks outside of the prison. The light from Feldrona's sun glistens off the Stromtrooper's armor as they slowly climb aboard their evac ride. Momma Bear doesn't look back, not even once.

Major · 10-26-2012, 08:32 PM

"Update, there are no traps were triggered as we went over. I see a lot of dead bodies and a lot of traps in the actual labyrinth however. Try to go over the labyrinth if possible." Kelaeon says over the coms, "Let's try and avoid unnecessary deaths."

As he arrives at the two staircases he paused. He didn't like either option. The elevator was almost definitely trapped and it wouldn't be that hard to make it collapse. And with all these traps he highly doubted that the elevator would be exempt.

However, an unmarked hallway would be a very bad idea if it didn't lead to the objective.

"Men, if the elevator doesn't blow itself up we'll blow it up ourselves and use the turbolift shaft to head down." Kelaeon says as he waits a bit longer at the two staircases not moving yet.

Spoiler

Thundercracker · 10-26-2012, 09:44 PM

Ice
"Kel, do you have a lock on the doctor's position?" Ice asks, holstering his blaster.

Vicious little karkers...

If there are any droids not completely destroyed:

"~~Mama Bear,~~Take these destroyed droids up to the science lab, see if there's a signal we can use to shut them down, in case there's any more," he says, "And make sure you run them through decontamination first."

Noedig · 10-26-2012, 09:49 PM

Jarik let out a sigh as the wookiee walked away. They always had the most irrational plans when they were angry. Hopefully she'd cool off, but he had no doubt she would at least attempt her insane plan. He noticed Graff had his hand pistol and he smirked; it would've been a helluva fight if he'd pulled the trigger. He keyed Hammer's frequency as the squad boarded the LAAT.

"Make sure you have the squad go through a full bio-hazard scan and detox when you get up there. Karking mist. And keep Momma Bear busy with something that'll take her mind off what's happening down here. I don't need a raging, grief-stricken wookiee tearing apart the ship while I'm gone. Fly safe Banshees. Crash out."

He keyed up the Panthers and the Mynoks next.

"Ok boys and girls, you heard our Knight. We're going to link up with him and Acklay, and maybe kill some stuff along the way. Find a partner and don't karking lose sight of them. Safeties off, heads on a swivel. Let's move it."

His orders given, he moved double time toward Jax and Kel, making sure to stop before entering the trap laden labyrinth.

Mithric Gunn · 10-27-2012, 06:29 AM

Sharka continues to follow Keleaon, maintaining the immersion.

Major · 10-27-2012, 01:55 PM

"We'll wait here for the others. We've cleared enough of a spearhead and with the ability for them to skip the labyrinth hopefully they won't be far behind." Kelaeon states, "It will be easy to cut us off and ruin the point of moving ahead inside."

Iron Victory · 10-27-2012, 04:18 PM

Still in a bit of shock over the horrific murder of the troopers, Sairen silently follows Jarik.

Mithric Gunn · 10-27-2012, 05:16 PM

"Knight Keleaon, with your permision, I would like to attempt to contact the Doctor. It may allow me to get a glimpse of his surroundings, and may give us advance warning if the enemy gets to him."

Noedig · 10-27-2012, 09:31 PM

As the rest of his troops navigated the top of the maze, Jarik scanned the area for his missing troops. He wouldn't leave anyone behind if he could help it.

Spoiler

Thundercracker · 10-27-2012, 09:47 PM

Ice
Ice walked quickly to keep up with the others, his eyes peeled for a computer terminal or a datapad belonging to one of the prison guards, anything that might lead them to a map, detailed or otherwise, of the prison.

Major · 10-28-2012, 03:50 AM

"Negative on the lock of the doctor yet." Kelaeon replies to Ice, "Our other doctor is going to attempt some of his things though." He says.

"Permission granted." He states, "It'd make it easier to find him at the very least."

Mithric Gunn · 10-28-2012, 05:55 AM

"Very well." Sharka reaches out with the force, sensing for the doctor, attempting to send a message:

Spoiler

Philistine · 10-28-2012, 12:11 PM

Graff thumbs the selector off of STUN as he falls in with the trailing element of the Stormtrooper platoon. He stays alert, occasionally turning around and walking backward for a few paces to check the party's backtrail as well. But as the group crosses over the labyrinth, he peels off to follow Jarik's search for the two wounded troopers. As he approaches the ground forces lieutenant, he opens up a private frequency to the older soldier and speaks quietly. "You know what has to be done here, right? They've got suit punctures, in a high-threat biohazard environment. The choice is now, fast and easy, or later, slow and painful and a danger to their buddies. I'd want you to do it for me."

Noedig · 10-28-2012, 03:51 PM

Jarik did not acknowledge Graff's approach but he did open a private channel as he continued scanning the labyrinth.

"Brains and Lurk are professionals. They knew this could happen. I'll make the call when we find them. Wheezer could survive a suit puncture though. That rebreather attatched to his face may be enough to keep him free from whatever plague killed this planet. In any case, I will leave no man or woman under my command behind if it can be helped. Living or dead, all my soldiers will go home."

He paused and stared straight at Graff. He kept his tone level, but he was nursing a fury deep inside.

"Keep this in mind: I am keeping score. So far, a bird's curiosity and a knight's plan have cost me six damned good people. They were my friends. You and Blue saved the Banshees. I won't forget that."

Felhammer · 10-28-2012, 04:40 PM

Shakra sends feelers out with the force, he locates his target. The Felucian sends his telepathic message to the Ee. The Doctor responds with a chilling dispassion.

Jarik locates his two men. Both wave up from inside the hole.

Meanwhile everyone else is now at the base of the two spiral staircases. One leads to a hallway, the other an elevator.

Noedig · 10-28-2012, 05:17 PM

This was one of the few times that Jarik blessed the uncomfortable helmet he had to wear. No one could see your face.

"Heh. You boys sittin' down on the job? Who the hell gave the ok for that one?"

Felhammer · 10-28-2012, 05:50 PM

Lurk looks up at Jarik and half-jokingly says, "Well Jax said continue on but these Spikes said "pop a squat and enjoy your shore leave." Lurk slaps Brains on the back and continues, "And well we haven't had a shore leave in a few years, so we decided to listen to the spikes."

Noedig · 10-28-2012, 06:29 PM

Jarik smirked.
"How ya feeling? Place is supposed to be a hot zone."

Felhammer · 10-28-2012, 06:37 PM

Brains pipes up, "A bit hot... And itchy. Nothing to worry about though."

Noedig · 10-28-2012, 07:09 PM

"C'mon Brains, you're smarter than that. A hangnail in a hotzone is worth worrying about. Your asses are punctured all to hell, so I'm definitely worried. How long you been down there?"

Felhammer · 10-28-2012, 07:21 PM

"Three minutes, maybe four."

Noedig · 10-28-2012, 07:58 PM

"Look boys, I'll be honest. I'm not rightly sure what do here. Grimme a minute while I think of something."

He stepped back from the edge of the hole and keyed Nomad's frequency.

"Nomad, Crash here. This is going to piss Kel off, but I want you to doubleback and grab Brains and Lurk. Then head for the entry for exfil. We'll take Mynok and Panthers down with us. This place is a goddamn deathtrap, and three squads is a bit to unwieldy in tight spaces anyway. If Kel gives you grief, I'll speak with him.

Jarik paused. He wasn't sure Nomad would be willing to go through with this, but he had to.

"When you get to the entry way, hold position and watch Brains and Lurk for signs of...whatever the hell killed the people down here. If they get real bad or endanger your squad, I'm trusting you to handle it. I don't like it but at that point a doubletap will be the only way to save them. After that, call in a CASVAC. Don't try to take the bodies back. I will not endanger the Kestrel with a bio-weapon. How copy?"