Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

[Welsh Halfwit]

Sarah huffed. "Seems nowt. thought might be a door or... Any of youse got a shap'd charge? Mak' oor ain door?"
--------------------------------------
Corp gave Conall a thumbs up before rolling his eyes and contacted Recon on a private channel. "According to our little loca the air's poison," he muttered. "Probably OK for the short time we're here but,we'll need decontamination and check ups when we get back. The others don't need to know just yet, Recon. It'll take their minds off their jobs. Could get them hurt. I'm telling you so they can be told if this unit goes down." He cut the line and engaged the group setting. "If they're tracing us, there's no logic to being upstairs. All downstairs and cover the doorway." As he said it, he was using the helmet screen directions to sign that Conall should get the little local downstairs to safety if he could. For his part, he grabbed the Coyote. "Can't leave you up here," he told him. "And your friends want you dead more than we do. Like it or not... You're with us now."
------------------------------------
"I was referring more to when we meet the Varanians," Hannabelle said. "Because, if they're being used for food, the Varanians are at the end of this trail. If they're being used to build a slave military..." She checked her weapon as they headed after the truck. "...the Varanians are at the end of this trail. Either way, it's us verses nine foot tall, armour plated behemoths for the Corytophians. And I don't plan on losing easily."
-----------------------------------
"And," Keeva asked smoothly, "would he be one that might accept an invitation to meet with a augmented Feline and a large, friendly, Pred? Who appears to have a child on his toe."
The child, being Golten, had somehow not seen the huge drone as he'd been racing the passages, engaged in chase games with Corvis. "S...sorry, sir," Golten said, "didn't see you there..."
Corvis just looked up at Pred, then at his brother. Then back at Pred. "Didn't... see... him..?" Then he just facepalmed.
----------------------------------
"I'll cert'nly try, sir," Cherry sniffed, focussing on getting through to someone she'd not met. "Home base to Hawk, come in Hawk. And, please, you're live on channel Mindwire. No swearing please."
-----------------------------------
Sana was at the rendezvous point. Well, she was nearly absolutely sure it was the rendezvous point. Now she just had to wait and hope Hawk had caused that large explosion and wasn't in it.
-----------------------------------
Jaken looked out on the cityscape. He could just about see where they'd landed from here. "Not in one portal," he admitted honestly. "But I can roof hop there in... Four portals?"

[Hlaoroo]

Cailean immediately grins at this question.
"Yer askin' me if Ah hae explosive an' can mak a door." he answers without answering.
"Ah willnae dae it wi'oot Corp's orders though. It would mak our position clear an' Ah dinnae if they ken exactly where we are yet."

~~~~~~~~
Conall nods in understanding and crosses back to Et'wan.
"Boss says tae gae daownstairs." he writes to the reptilian creature.
'Come on. We'll tak care o' ye. An' boss' boss will dae his best tae tak care o' th' situation 'ere. Ah'll explain when there's time." Wisely the Laird refrains from actually promising Et'wan safety, just in case.

[SeanWolf]

Hawk continued running up the steps that connected to the wall, his eyes on the two remaining transports. He didn't have a plan to take them both out as, much to his dismay, the launcher he used to destroy the one was, itself, destroyed when it crashed onto the streets below. Still, he thought as he scurried up the stairs, that's one less transport for the crew to deal with...

Hivemind was considering when he noted the explosion in the middle of the outer city of New Rome. He let out a synthetic sound similar to a sigh and rubbed his forehead. "Get me in contact with Hawk..."

Hearing his comm-unit go off, much to his annoyance, Hawk grabbed the communicator and activated it; Hivemind's ID appeared on the screen. "You're going to have to call me back, sir! Situation here just went from already bad to even worse!" He said before turning off the comm-unit as he reached the second to last set of stairs. "Man, I'm gonna get chewed out for this...swear he's gonna think this is my fault...I know that, it's just...thanks to that replica? My reputation is more shot than ever..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at the outskirts, Tobias was readying to play another song when he heard a rather peculiar noise. First thinking it to be some sort of wildlife, he was set to ignore it until he looked up..."Ay, Dios mío!" He tapped Eira on the shoulder and pointed to where he was looking. "Aren't those the two buques* that Hawk mentioned?"

*buques = Ship

[Legotron123]

"We're here Gear. We'll be there in a few." Liz said, before looking back to the others. "That would be our cue to leave."
Kolt smiled and gave them a thumbs up. "Well good luck! Hope to see you when all this is done and we've back on the Beacon."
Liz gave him a thumbs up back and a nod to Eira before she and Lewis headed out to meet up with gear.
Kolt turned back to his new gal pal and his smile turned into more of a smirk. "Let's go beat up some bad guys." He said, starting to float somewhat above the ground.

[CyberDragon]

Conall looks alarmed at this revelation. He raises a finger in the universally-recognised "wait one moment" gesture and hurries over to Corp, having no idea the mouse had just mentioned him. He makes sure to give the captive a wide berth, his pad converting his scribbles into clear print as he walks. He waves urgently to get the Mican's attention and shows him the pad.
"Danger! Et'wan say deadly disease in air! We all exposed, need masks! Government gone, privatised. No help coming for people." The pad says, keeping the message as succinct as possible.

Corp gave Conall a thumbs up before rolling his eyes and contacted Recon on a private channel. "According to our little loca the air's poison," he muttered. "Probably OK for the short time we're here but,we'll need decontamination and check ups when we get back. The others don't need to know just yet, Recon. It'll take their minds off their jobs. Could get them hurt. I'm telling you so they can be told if this unit goes down."

"Guys, calm down. Why do you think Hive insists we wear the armor he provides? On the base of the neck on the right side, just next to the pauldron, you'll find a button. Press it, and it'll deploy a sealed full face helmet. I'll contact Gadgeteer. He should be able to do a scan of the air to figure out what's in it." Recon said before pressing the button on her own armor. Like she said, a full face helmet materialized out of the pack on the back of her armor and wrapped around her head.

"If they're tracing us, there's no logic to being upstairs. All downstairs and cover the doorway." As he said it, he was using the helmet screen directions to sign that Conall should get the little local downstairs to safety if he could. For his part, he grabbed the Coyote. "Can't leave you up here," he told him. "And your friends want you dead more than we do. Like it or not... You're with us now."

Conall nods in understanding and crosses back to Et'wan.
"Boss says tae gae daownstairs." he writes to the reptilian creature.
'Come on. We'll tak care o' ye. An' boss' boss will dae his best tae tak care o' th' situation 'ere. Ah'll explain when there's time." Wisely the Laird refrains from actually promising Et'wan safety, just in case.

Et'wan nodded and cautiously followed along behind the others as they all went downstairs. Recon remained on overwatch on the roof while Titan kept in her position in one of the back rooms. The captured merc didn't have much choice but to follow along.

Meanwhile, the group of mercenaries and their Varanian leader were right on top of the building. The Varanian with the tracker turned to face the front door, then barked some orders at the other mercenaries. The six armed thugs fanned out and surrounded the building, with two covering the back door, two covering the windows on the left side, and two covering the windows on the right. The Varanian drew a massive gun and approached the front door.

The Varanian pulled his gun back, then slammed the butt of it against the door, smashing it to pieces. The massive reptile stepped inside and sniffed the air, before noticing the people coming down the stairs. It raised it's gun and roared, preparing to fire.

--------------------

"I was referring more to when we meet the Varanians," Hannabelle said. "Because, if they're being used for food, the Varanians are at the end of this trail. If they're being used to build a slave military..." She checked her weapon as they headed after the truck. "...the Varanians are at the end of this trail. Either way, it's us verses nine foot tall, armour plated behemoths for the Corytophians. And I don't plan on losing easily."

"Ah. I see what ya mean." Gear nodded, before pulling a case of ammo out of the pack on his back. He opened it up and handed Hannabelle a fistful of armor piercing ammunition. "You wanna take out a Varanian, aim for the heart. They've got two, but take one out an' their limbs stop working an' they usually pass out. Blood vessels in non-vital organs contract, cuttin' off flow so the remainin' heart only has to pump enough to keep the vital parts alive."

Gear loaded a single round into his rifle.

"We're here Gear. We'll be there in a few." Liz said, before looking back to the others. "That would be our cue to leave."

Once the two were back, Gear stood back up. "Glad y'all could make it. Van's still on the move, an' it's headin' out of town. Unless any of y'all have a land speeder in yer pockets, I'm gonna call in some transport."

Gear held up his arm and typed something in on the display screen that appeared above it.

"Any of y'all know how to ride a motorcycle?"

--------------------

"And," Keeva asked smoothly, "would he be one that might accept an invitation to meet with a augmented Feline and a large, friendly, Pred? Who appears to have a child on his toe."
The child, being Golten, had somehow not seen the huge drone as he'd been racing the passages, engaged in chase games with Corvis. "S...sorry, sir," Golten said, "didn't see you there..."
Corvis just looked up at Pred, then at his brother. Then back at Pred. "Didn't... see... him..?" Then he just facepalmed.

"I am large enough that I look like a vehicle or otherwise a piece of equipment. It is more understandable than one might think." Predator commented. "But I would appreciate you standing back. I am heavy machinery, and you could get caught underfoot or injured by shifting plates when I move."

"Why are you two here, anyway?" Hivemind said sternly to Corvis and Golten. "This is a machine shop, full of heavy and dangerous equipment. It isn't safe for you two to be roughhousing around here. Why don't you two meet me outside, and I'll show you the way to the park?"

Hivemind turned to Keeva and nodded. "I believe he wouldn't mind meeting new people. He is currently walking around and seeing the sights on the ship. I will ask him if he is willing to stop by."

Hivemind paused for a moment, as though waiting for an answer from someone. Not long after, he spoke again.

"He's open to it. He should be here right about..."

Hivemind paused, and a writhing mass of shadows and darkness materialized in the air next to him. The shadowy tendrils twisted, forming into a vaguely anthropoid figure with a long tail. The shadows faded, and in their place stood a portly fox, roughly 5 feet tall, with feathers and talons on his arms. He held a skewer with what looked like fried tentacles wrapped around it in one clawed hand and a footlong hot dog in the other. On his neck was some kind of torc, slightly bent in places from being roughly handled.

"Greetings! Name's Vex! Man, can you believe how many festivals and carnivals there are on this ship? I haven't even gotten to the Wurstfest yet!" Vex said in a deep, yet cheerful voice.

He moved the skewer to his other hand, holding it between two fingers as he reached out to shake Keeva's hand.

"And who might you be?"

--------------------

"I'll cert'nly try, sir," Cherry sniffed, focussing on getting through to someone she'd not met. "Home base to Hawk, come in Hawk. And, please, you're live on channel Mindwire. No swearing please."

Hearing his comm-unit go off, much to his annoyance, Hawk grabbed the communicator and activated it; Hivemind's ID appeared on the screen. "You're going to have to call me back, sir! Situation here just went from already bad to even worse!" He said before turning off the comm-unit as he reached the second to last set of stairs. "Man, I'm gonna get chewed out for this...swear he's gonna think this is my fault...I know that, it's just...thanks to that replica? My reputation is more shot than ever..."

The comm unit clicked itself right back on again the moment Hawk turned it off. Hivemind had hijacked it, and was overriding it's controls. "Hawk. That is the second explosion you've been at the center of. YOU ARE IN A CITY! And a crowded one at that! It's a miracle if nobody's been killed."

"Grab Sana, link up with the others, make sure you aren't followed, and keep an eye on your surroundings. There are civilians all around you. The last thing we want is a fatality." Hivemind said before disconnecting from the comm unit.

- - - - -

The droid sighed again, sitting down and holding his hand to his head in a very human 'mentally exhausted' manner. He didn't say anything else.

--------------------

Jaken looked out on the cityscape. He could just about see where they'd landed from here. "Not in one portal," he admitted honestly. "But I can roof hop there in... Four portals?"

Hivemind looked out over the city, feeling unsure about this plan. Finally, he conceded that they needed their gear. He wanted to have it available in case things went south, which was the direction things seemed to be rapidly heading towards.

"...Alright. If you think you can do it, then do it. Just go in, grab Rika's equipment, and get back as fast as you can. If you're spotted, come back immediately. Understood?" Hivemind instructed.

--------------------

Back at the outskirts, Tobias was readying to play another song when he heard a rather peculiar noise. First thinking it to be some sort of wildlife, he was set to ignore it until he looked up..."Ay, Dios mío!" He tapped Eira on the shoulder and pointed to where he was looking. "Aren't those the two buques* that Hawk mentioned?"

*buques = Ship

"...Right..." Eira said, focusing on the two ships flying over the town a short ways away. "Gadgeteer, I'm going to need more water."

"Way ahead of you." the Varanian said, running towards her with two twenty gallon jugs slung over his shoulders. He lowered them to the ground, and Eira pulled the water out from inside. She engulfed herself in it, then froze it into a solid armor entirely made of ice.

"Jenny, you hang on to Kolt. Tobias, you grab hold of me. Given their descent and where they're headed, they'll be too far from us to be able to go on foot, so we're going in hard and fast." Eira said. "Kolt, keep a low profile. Stay close to the ground. Weave through the streets and alleys, but don't go above the tallest buildings. Seeing us flying without wings will draw too much attention from too great a radius."

Eira waited until Tobias had grabbed hold of her, then she lifted the armor into the air with her inside. Tobias would notice that, despite being made of ice, the armor wasn't cold at all.

"Let's get going!" she said, before flying off. She kept low, avoiding going higher than two stories off the ground as she made her way toward the dropship.