yellowthirteen | The Fourteenth Sortie [Action]

The Fourteenth Sortie [Action]

[He was just going to the store to get a few groceries. It wasn't far. Just around the corner. He would've been there and back in a few minutes, and he left during a lull. But when he got near the store, he found himself in another place entirely.

It looked a lot like Farbanti, the Erusian capital. He could easily tell this from where he arrived; near the district that had been completely sent underwater when the Ulysses asteroid fell. Unfortunately, he couldn't have arrived at a worse time. The sounds overhead were that of ISAF fighters, presumably including Mobius One, yet Thirteen wasn't able to see any of the aircraft above. Strange, but perhaps it was just ambient noise.

No, the more immediate threat came from the advancing ISAF soldiers on the ground... all of whom were hostile. They waste no time opening fire at Thirteen as he ducks around a corner. Armed with only his handgun, Thirteen is stuck in a familiar town. He had to find a way out of here, one that didn't involve him getting shot.

Anyone in the vicinity of the general store could be pulled into this simulation, which might make for some fine culture shock to those not used to a modern setting. It could be that they stumbled into this the same as he did... or it could be someone intentionally looking for danger. Either way, Thirteen could probably use some backup in escaping.]

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[From behind their lines, an armored figure breaks the arm, spine, and ribcage of one of the troopers, before using his weapon to neutralize part of the group assaulting the Major's position, and run towards him with a pair of these weapons in both hands. She didn't doubt she would attract some attention with that stunt.

While she has experience fighting the Insurrection, she doesn't like killing humans. But to her, these holograms, the cultists, and the Malnosso did qualify as "human".]

[Chaos resulting in their ranks isn't hard to miss. Thirteen peeks around the corner and takes a few shots with his pistol at a couple of advancing troopers before ducking back around the corner. Unfortunately given the haste and improper aiming he had to take the shots with, he missed.

But was that Daisy in the middle of their ranks, breaking them in half?]

[SPARTAN-023 moves from cover to cover with the attention she gathers, every moment she peeks out to fire against the most immediate threats, or bending the body of soldiers that stand in her way. There were still a lot of them for her to take on this way, and with only holographic weapons she had been looting and using all over Luceti.

The Spartan fires against the pair before she slides towards cover, and puts the safety lock on the rifle on her left.]

Sir!

[She sends the weapon towards the Major, then two ammunition cartridges.]

[The assault rifle is a welcome sight. He can't help but smile to himself for a brief instant as he grabs that rifle and the two magazines.

But he's quickly all business again as he takes aim with the rifle and returns fire back against the ISAF soldiers that are firing on Daisy's position.]

[Likewise, in the instances the Spartan has to get out of cover, she takes down the threats that aim against the Pilot. Sometimes intentionally exposing herself so the troopers pay more attention to her than to Litchi's friend.]

We've got to get out of here, Major! More will be coming!

[Thirteen squeezes off a three round burst followed by two semi-automatic shots at the soldiers that are advancing toward their position.]

Don't have to tell me on that one! This is my home turf, just gotta find the way out of this battle!

[Thirteen gestures down an alleyway nearby.]

We can take that alleyway to get to a different street!

Get there! I'll cover you!

[The moment she sees a fire team reload, she bolts towards them, smashing them with the sheer force of her armor, and finishing the last one with a kick.

She grabs the ammunition -they were going to need it-. And fires to distract the ISAF troopers before she follows the Major.]

[Thirteen doesn't think. He just moves as Daisy creates a distraction, into the alley, as fast as his legs will take him, until the alley comes to a T junction, where he checks both corners and then turns to the right and uses that corner to turn around and provide cover for Daisy as she follows.

...Of course, knowing the SPARTAN she'll have no trouble making it there faster than he did.]

[Once Yellow Thirteen is on the alley, providing covering fire, SPARTAN-023 fires a few shots before she runs back to the Major's position. She takes a few grenades from the soldiers she had downed.

A few bullets deflect upon hitting her metal plates. She decides to get out before they decide to use stronger weapons.]

Really missing explosive gear now.

[She reaches the Major's position and fires a few shots against a few pursuers, before standing ready to follow him.]

I hear you, Daisy.

[Thirteen signals for her to follow him again. The alleys will take them deeper inside the city for a few moments before they emerge in the waterfront district...

Here, about 25% of the city... is underwater. Skyscrapers stand out of the sea, which drowned an entire district. It's a haunting sight for Thirteen to look at, an injury that was seemingly unique to Farbanti. He hesitates for a moment when he sees it, but then waits for Daisy to catch up.]

[She follows the Major, her weapon above him. She remembers the dangers of Urban combat, so her muzzle keeps watch of rooftops, windows, and other high areas. There were too many places where they could be taken by surprise.

Though none of it compares to her reaction once she sees the submerged district. It's surreal.

Likewise, Daisy hesitates for an instant, before she continues following the Major, the cannon of her rifle checking for threats beside or behind them. If they got past this section, the water would slow them down.]

What just happened here?

...It happened years ago.

[He keeps pushing forward along the side of the waterfront, heading away from the center of the city.]

The Ulysses asteroid impact. Flooded a quarter of the city and devastated most of the area around it. ...This whole area had to be rebuilt.

[His tone is... dark. Grim. The incident in Farbanti alone killed tens of thousands. Wounded a lot more. And Daisy can probably imagine the horrors that were on the ground after it happened. And she might be able to guess Thirteen saw a lot of it first hand.]

[He was a survivor.

She had heard of asteroids impacting colonies, but this is akin to seeing a glassed planet. To endure through something like this, to see millions of lives end in one instant...

The Spartan follows the Major in silence. Whatever he remembered of this place, they would need it go get out safely, back to Litchi. Any more, and his morale could drop the more he remembered from that day.]

[Truth be told, he remembered that day almost every day. It was a bleak time. And the recovery from it was horrible for everyone. The Erusian attitude during the time was markedly depressed. There wasn't a lot of hope and a lot of people suffered, many in silence.

He coped how he could. The memories still haunt him, but they weighed less on his mind these days. Farbanti had been this way long enough for it to be... almost routine to him. So he pressed on along the side of the waterfront. He spared a glance between two skyscrapers in the water, though.

What Daisy might recognize as a Trident ballistic missile submarine was parked out between the skyscrapers in the water... it served as a temporary hiding place for the boomer sub. It was tough for ISAF aircraft to hit at that angle. The sub seemed inactive though... probably just part of the simulation's terrain.]

[No person ever forgets these things. The Chief herself had been under Paprika's watch for therapy, and she wished there were more people that could both accept these services and give them. But it's always things like these that resurface it in this place. Always an act of the Malnosso.

She takes note of the submarine and its' position. It made sense for a vessel like it to take place in a protected area, though she has only seen weapons work in the Battle Dome. Watching the towers, her caution taks place.]

We better move fast. Those towers could be sniper nests.

They are.

[He quickly answers, quickening his pace.]

They're ours.

[In this simulation, the Spartan remembered that they wouldn't be friendly.

She quickens her pace with that of the Major, and her weapon checks for threats in the buildings. If she didn't see the snipers or their bullets, she wouldn't hear them coming before it was too late.]

There has to be another alley.

[Remington certainly has a knack for being led into strange situations. Especially the dangerous kind of strange. And he's certainly taking the sudden change in scenery as strange, while the soldiers approaching from certain directions as dangerous. A silly combination that he grows weary of every time he ends up in it.

He doesn't care much for the setting of the scenery, since he's focused on not getting attacked at the moment. Drawing his pistols out, he'll try making quick work of whatever soldiers he manages to see and shoot. Screw bullets, he has laser beams. And cover. He should take cover.]

I'm sure Grany would have had some sort of remark about this. [And he doesn't quite notice Thirteen anywhere near him just yet.]

[Thirteen catches sight of the blaster wielding man, who's cutting down a few ISAF soldiers. ...But coming up from an alley to Remington's flank is a small squad of more of them.]

Hey, you! Six of them coming from your four-o'clock! Get outta there!

[Remington turns his attention to Thirteen, confused by what he means by them being at his four o'clock. It doesn't take much for him to check behind him, regardless of misunderstanding, and noticing them.

His response? Ducking and rolling waaaay out of the way of danger.] I suppose you're not with them?

[After taking a couple of shots at the approaching soldiers, he turns back to Remington.]

Definitely not. These guys were the people I fought back home.

They're certainly quite angry. [He didn't even do anything, and they want to shoot him.

Well. Remington just shoots right back for a moment, before returning to whatever shoddy form of cover he chose.] And how many of them are there?

...Tens of thousands. This is a full-blown warzone.

[Thirteen winces as a few bullets hit the corner he's taking cover around. They're moving to suppress them, this is bad.]

How many did you say!? [Tens of thousands of soldiers like these. Meaning that they weren't supposedly the type who charged headfirst with swords like a Iop. A shame.] No matter. We'll have to deal with them one way or another at this rate.

More likely we'll need to run. There were tens of thousands in the real battle back home, don't know how many will be here.

[He squeezes off a couple more rounds before the return fire forces him back into cover.]

We gotta move, we'll get pinned if we stay here!

I could not agree with you more, if that is the case. [Remington holsters his two pistols, instead reaching for the boomerang that was on his belt. He held it close to his face, ready to pop out of cover.] Allow this to serve as a distraction!

[And with a quick jump out, he's throwing it with pinpoint accuracy to, quite frankly, cause as much of a ruckus as possible with one throw. Probably pulling some semi-Batman disarm attempts. That might be fatal. :D]

[If any of the disarms are fatal, Thirteen doesn't look like he cares at this point. It's good this guy can take care of himself, though. Means they both might get out of this okay.]

Come on, follow me! I know a way we can go!

[With the distraction out, Thirteen makes a break down the street around the corner he was hiding behind. He quickly crosses it and dashes into a nearby building.]

[Remington watches Thirteen move, following him quickly while catching the boomerang on its arc back. He'll keep up with Thirteen easily, running with quite the serious face on.]

Are you sure you know where to go?

[He's every bit as serious, no questions asked.]

This is my hometown. Grew up here. Yeah. I know it.

[Remington shifts his sight around a bit as he runs, trying to take in his surroundings.] Then we are no longer in Luceti?

[It's been a while since Thirteen left. Litchi has been trying to squash down her worry, but given the circumstances, there are far too many possibilities for why he's delayed... and she's not going to sit around and wait to find out which one it is.

And so, she heads out, moving at a pretty good pace, rounding the corner into...

...Just what is this place?

She's frozen in horror for a moment as she realizes the sheer number of soldiers in the streets. And then it's time to run, because she needs to find Thirteen before either one of them can get shot full of holes.

Don't mind her quite literally running into your back as she rounds another corner, Dave.]

[Thirteen is immediately startled and thrown forward by the impact, and in pure reflex he spins around and aims his weapon at whatever just hit him.

...And when he realizes who it is, he immediately lowers it.]

Litchi?!

[She flinches as the weapon is aimed at her, but breathes a sigh when it's lowered. That was definitely a little too close.]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you... I was worried something like this might have happened, so I came to find you.

[And while she may have Mantenbou on her, it's not really much defense against gunfire.]

Are you alright?

[Honestly, he feels a tinge of guilt for pointing the gun at her even for a second, but it's a combat situation. Still...]

I'm fine so far. But those ISAF soldiers are trying to see to it otherwise. We gotta get out of here.

[ISAF. It's a name Litchi's no doubt heard plenty of times in Thirteen's past. The Usean forces that opposed the Federal Republic of Erusea in the Usean Continental War.]

[She recognizes the name instantly and tosses a quick glance over her shoulder. So these were the ones... Which meant that, wherever this place was that was being simulated, it was from his home world.

...In a way, she wishes she had a chance to see it in less dire circumstances.

Still, she'll nod in agreement. Getting out of here is probably best for now.]

I'm not even sure which way to go. It seemed like they were just about everywhere.

[He nods grimly, looking back the direction Litchi came. It's clear for now.]

If this vision is accurate... we're talking tens of thousands of men invading this city.

[Another small nod. She's worried, of course, but it's time to think. This is not the time to panic.]

Is there any way around that would be safest? They can't possibly have brought all of them here.

[...She hopes. The Malnosso never cease to exasperate her in cases like this.]

[He looks thoughtful for a moment before the deafening roar of a jet engine flying past fills the air. Thirteen looks up to the sky, again, seeing no plane to go with it.

...He shakes his head.]

"Safest" is going to be strictly relative. ...We should head closer to the waterfront. ISAF forces surrounded the city, but they have to fight all the way there before they reach us, and their lines were weakest in the north.

[He gestures down a side road between two buildings.]

We'll take the alleys around. Might take longer but they're less likely to see us.

[She can tell from the way he's talking that he knows this place well. She's curious, but it's definitely something that will have to wait. Now really isn't the best time for chit-chat.]

If you lead, I'll follow. I'm... honestly not too sure how much help I'll be against enemies like this, but I can certainly try my best.

[He looks around again before starting to move into the alleys. It's concealed from the road and the Erusian Army would use them for ambushes frequently, so if the ISAF troops played true to form they'd be relatively safe in there if they weren't spotted.]

It's better not to try unless you must. Their assault rifles are faster and probably have better range than magic.

[...He pauses for a moment in the alley and curses under his breath as they keep moving.]

Dammit, I forgot I could even use magic here.

[Litchi just follows along as quietly as she can, giving a small nod in answer. It's clear he knows his way around here, so she knows she can trust his sense of direction. Still, it's a bit of a struggle to fight back a smile that he temporarily forgot about the Filial magic.]

I suppose it's understandable. The magic is the only part that doesn't quite fit your home, hm...?

[Wince. The sounds of the jets overhead are really distracting. She keeps expecting some sort of aerial assault to go along with trying to skirt around all these soldiers.]

Pretty much.

[Thirteen looks up at the jet sound... and again, there's no actual plane to go with it. Eerie.

He leads them both quietly through a series of alleyways, the footsteps of the ISAF soldiers sometimes being heard a block over when the jets weren't screaming above.]

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The Fourteenth Sortie [Action]

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