runmakitarun: (someone gonna die)
Makita ([personal profile] runmakitarun) wrote2007-08-06 05:32 am
Entry tags:

Into the storm

As the last of the team files through the door Makita closes it firmly behind herself and leads the way over to the window. Down in the square below twelve people move purposefully through the snow.

The six women are mostly unremarkable. One stands out as being exceptionally tall, one is short enough to almost look like a child, and hair of various colors and lenghts and styles can be seen escaping from their warm hats. The six men, however, stand out. The smallest is six and a half feet tall and looks to weigh at least 270 pounds. All twelve of them move with the smooth grace of practiced killers.

Makita doesn't bother whispering as she points them out, "See how they move in pairs? Each sorceress has her Guardsman a few paces behind her. You can see that even in a group they're thinking in twos. When we hit them, I want us to concentrate on splitting as many pairs as we can. They operate much less efficiently when their teams are broken up."

"There's another square like this a few blocks down. If they're headed of our HQ, then they'll have to go through it. If we move fast we can get there first and set up." She shoulders her rifle and looks at her team again, "Let's keep it fast and quiet."

So saying, Makita leads the way out the door, heading toward the rear fire escape for the building.
twiststheblade: (Default)

[personal profile] twiststheblade 2007-08-15 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Miho, likewise, chooses her spot with care. She'll be fighting hand-to-hand, so she doesn't choose a good vantage point, opting instead to melt into an almost-black shadow at the base of a crumbling building. She stands lightly on the balls of her feet, bouncing a little to stay warm, hands tucked for now deep into fur-lined pockets. She'll be not good to anyone if her fingers are so cold she can't hold a sword.

[identity profile] 3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com 2007-08-15 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Upon their arrival at the ambush plaza, Goldy surveys the scene and quickly picks out the balconied building Makita had spoken of. It looks adequate—not structurally sound per se, but less artillery-ravaged and derelict than some of the other buildings around—so she heads for it, bent almost double now in her fight against the cruel elements.

"By my reckoning we've still got a few minutes," she tells Krauser before they split up. "Get a few mines down. Ideally, covering the entrances to the side streets. Eliminate some of their escape routes. I'll let them get well into the square before I fire, so the other girls can cut off their retreat."

And with that, she disappears through a twisted door frame into the half-darkness of her assigned building.

By way of a surviving stairwell, she ascends to the fourth floor and starts setting up shop. Down goes her bag of equipment. Out comes the bi-pod near the muzzle of the rifle. And soon enough she's lying diagonally across the snow-blanketed balcony, locked, loaded and sighting in through one of the gaps between the concrete balusters.

[identity profile] dead-comrade.livejournal.com 2007-08-17 05:22 am (UTC)(link)
If he weren't already in working mode, he'd smile at being given orders; but right now, getting set up and in position by the time anyone's here is more important.

Time's an investment. He moves through the snow like no human can, jumping into sheltered areas and climbing along them to a better point to leap again. He makes a few pieces of cover into rather more unwelcoming places than they look, then moves to rig the nearest ways out.

Once that's done, he goes around and up, climbing and jumping until he's on the rooftop opposite Goldy. He stays low and out of sight getting into position.

It's not the most stable rooftop he's ever been on, but he's confident it won't be in danger of falling until it's been hit a few times. . . and by then, he'll be down in the street anyway.
song_tra_bong: (woman like a man)

[personal profile] song_tra_bong 2007-08-17 12:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Mary Anne makes a mental note of the others' rough location. She hunkers a little deeper behind her cover, staying as still as she can. Now and again, she moves just enough to keep the blood flowing in her limbs.

Snow gathers in a thin layer over her hat and coat. She waits.

[identity profile] theredstars.livejournal.com 2007-08-17 01:25 pm (UTC)(link)
For long minutes the the howling wind is the only sound that can be heard. Snow flurries across the frozen ground shifting the lay of the terrain as piles of snow slowly drift down the street.

Before the cold can truly set in, a huge man in full combat gear ghosts into the courtyard. He's over six and a half feet tall and weighs closer to three hundred pounds than two hundred. He's wearing heavy combat armor and the hailer hooked to his arm swings back and forth as his eyes scan the street from beneath his helmet.

Not far behind him, a rather unprepossessing woman steps out of the obscuring snow. Her hair, where it escapes her fur hat, is dark, and her eyes glow a luminescent white visible from across the plaza. She appears unarmed, but she has a way of moving that belies her harmless appearance. Her steps are precise as she steps up behind the tall man and places a hand on his arm. He shifts his weight slightly, but doesn't stop scanning for threats.

Five more pairs of very large men and variously sized women join the first two at the edge of the courtyard. They recognize it as good ambush ground, and even though they know they should be alone they're careful. Eventually, though, the group seems satisfied that all is clear and they spread out and begin moving again, heading across the center of the plaza.

[identity profile] 3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com 2007-08-17 05:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Visibility is still atrocious, but with the help of the hi-tech scope, Goldy sights the enemy group as they cross towards the ruined fountain. Digital read-outs show an erratically gusting crosswind effect. They also confirm the expected Protokol shielding each of the sorceresses have in place. This is not going to be easy.

That's the way Goldy likes it. By now, a quick-release two milligram Diazepam tablet has gotten her shivering under control, and well-disciplined willpower is keeping her breathing slow and steady. She deliberates over the six sorceresses—which witch is which?—searching for the one with the highest rank. Unfortunately, the uniforms don't seem to carry any discernible insignia, so she randomly picks the tall woman positioned on the left flank.

They draw closer and split around the once beautiful centerpeice, now more rubble than ornamentation. Goldy lets them come, lets them get clear of the potential cover. Then, once they're exposed again, she prepares to expend the first of her six Protokol Piercing Rounds.

Within the pale red imaging of the scope view, three concentric circles align themselves on the target's head.

Goldy exhales slowly ...and squeezes the trigger.

[identity profile] theredstars.livejournal.com 2007-08-17 06:15 pm (UTC)(link)
The Dragunov fires a big round, and the distinctive crack of a large caliber rifle can be heard even over the howling of the wind.

The shield protokol surrounding the targeted sorceress acts as designed and a spinning wall of glowing red springs to life around her as the bullet gets within one meter. But the red flickers and then shatters as the bullet flares with energy.

Every guardsman is already in motion, diving to cover their charges, but no one could be fast enough in this situation. Her head snaps back in a spray of red just as the big man nearby grabs her arm to jerk her down. The other five pairs scatter immediately to locations which provide cover from Goldy's position.

The sixth man grabs his motionless charge and slings her over one shoulder while he moves for cover of his own. One of the guardsmen leans over to converse briefly with his sorceress and then turns his hailer in the general direction of the building Goldy's perched in. A hail of bullets stitch their way across the entire building, not enough to hit anything specifically, but enough to keep heads down.

The rest of the Reds are keeping half an eye out for the sniper and half an eye for other threats. They're on guard, but distracted.

[identity profile] runmakitarun.livejournal.com 2007-08-17 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Makita pops her head up to find that one of the Red pairs have taken cover behind the krawl she's hiding in. With a savage grin she pulls herself silently up, draws one of her pistols, and empties a clip into the guardsman as she slides back off the krawl before the sorceress can turn on her.

She drops the empty magazine down the front of her shirt and reloads on the run. Heading for the nearest piece of cover: a large concrete bench. She's counting on the others to cause enough chaos for her to find better cover before the witch recovers enough to counter-attack.
slayer_fray: (bouncy)

[personal profile] slayer_fray 2007-08-17 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Mel switches into a dive the second she hears the shot, and comes rocketing down out of the blizzard, diving like a falcon with the world's most tasteless plumage.

She's from a completely different direction than Goldy, so at least one of the pairs have managed to present their backs to her.

She pulls the pin of her grenade and hurls it at the nearest guard, jerking out of the dive at the same time. Moving fast and erratically, she presents a very obvious moving target, and hopefully a distraction from the snipers.
twiststheblade: (captioned japanese steel)

[personal profile] twiststheblade 2007-08-17 10:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Miho starts moving as soon as she hears Goldy's shot, taking advantage of the confusion. There's a pair of witch and guard heading almost straight for her, so she returns the compliment. She won't have the benefit of surprise anyway, if they get a few feet closer to her hiding-spot.

As she moves smoothly towards them, she is preceded by several shuriken. She's after the guard, really - she's not sure if her metal will penetrate the witch's shield - but the first spinning star is aimed for the woman's throat. Just in case. The next two are for the guard.

[identity profile] 3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com 2007-08-18 07:09 am (UTC)(link)
The first volley of Hailer fire rips into the building around Goldy's position. This isn't just some rat-a-tat machine gun—its huge rounds shatter the brickwork and blast straight through some of the weaker sections of wall. Goldy is forced to drag her eye away from the scope and shield her head from the falling masonry.

"I NEED MORE COVERING FIRE!" she yells into her now active comm-link.

She sincerely hopes that the others have switched theirs on too.

[identity profile] dead-comrade.livejournal.com 2007-08-18 11:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, having their sniper buried under her own position: not good. Krauser leaves off the target he was about to take, shifting his aim for the man firing instead.

Modern warfare does not include bows because he (and his bow, because normal humans can't use it) are not standard issue. He fires the first arrow; before it lands, two more are on the way.

The wind pushes the fourth and last one a little off, although Krauser had to adjust his aim quickly since the target's on the ground--he started falling when the first one went into his skull. Krauser's started taking only instant kills, these days.

There's still a reason why he fired so many arrows into a corpse. The explosive now buried in the man's head is going to go off first, but Krauser's relying on the chain-reaction factor to magnify the explosion.
song_tra_bong: (time to go to work)

[personal profile] song_tra_bong 2007-08-20 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
Mary Anne tracks the guard whose sorceress Goldy sniped in the beginning. He's moving still, from cover to cover, and still carrying the woman's body. With his size, it's not exactly slowing him down.

The snow messes with her vision, but it's not too different than fighting in the underbrush or the rain. You just have to look past it, look through it, and focus on nothing but that flash of real movement--

Her first round of fire catches him across the knees. He falls, bellowing, the dead sorceress landing beside him. He tries to drag himself upright and her next shots open his throat.

[identity profile] theredstars.livejournal.com 2007-08-26 09:11 am (UTC)(link)
Even a group as experienced as a Red commando team can be disoriented during the first moments of a well-laid ambush. The Reds are used to dealing with snipers, after all. They're terribly common within the city. But full-scale ambushes are far less so. Scattering for cover, they fall into old patterns. And they forget to watch their backs.

Mel's grenade bounces off her target's head. Considering how strong she is, that would be enough to stun him on its own, but then the grenade goes off and his helmet isn't really designed to stop that much shrapnel that close. He goes down and the concussion staggers the sorceress next to him.

At the same moment the explosives in Krauser's arrows go off just as the guardsman's sorceress turns to look at him, and she's thrown back a few feet by the shockwave. He shields keep her from taking any hits, but the force stuns her for a moment.

Miho's first shuriken is blocked by the sorceress' shield and the red-haired woman in question spins to see where it came from. The guardsmen spins at the same time, so instead of taking an instantly fatal blow her merely loses an eye and takes a long bleeding gash across his face.

As Mary Anne's target goes down, one of the sorceress', presumably their ranking officer, yells, "Case Blackthorn! Scatter!" Two guardsmen and five sorceresses survived the initial onslaught to some degree or another, nearly half the people in the plaza died within seconds.

The two sorceresses staggered by grenades stumble to their feet and join the other survivors in scattering out of the plaza, each heading off on their own. One surviving guardsman-sorceress pair sticks together as they head north, a lone sorceress heads in each of the other cardinal directions.

The pair facing Miho decide to deal with her before leaving themselves. She's just one tiny woman, it shouldn't take long even with the guardsman going into shock.

[identity profile] runmakitarun.livejournal.com 2007-08-26 09:13 am (UTC)(link)
"They're scattering," Makita yells into her com-link. It's an observation that probably wasn't needed, but... "I've got the one heading west! Don't let any of them get away!" She scrambles up from cover and sprints after the sorceress who's guardsman she just killed.
slayer_fray: (bloodlust)

[personal profile] slayer_fray 2007-08-26 10:30 am (UTC)(link)
Mel's already flying after her stunned sorceress before it occurs to her to use her com-link.

"I've got mine!" she says, having no idea which direction that is, and even less idea how to penetrate her shields.
twiststheblade: (captioned deadly grace)

[personal profile] twiststheblade 2007-08-29 01:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Miho rolls her eyes and goes for the guardsman's throat, skipping to the side before slipping in under his guard and drawing him a new smile. She hasn't lost the element of surprise after all - her stature has them under-estimating her. Good.

[identity profile] dead-comrade.livejournal.com 2007-08-30 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
"South," Krauser says, calling it as he moves across the uncertain rooftop and drops to the ground past it. He doesn't move into the alleyway, since he doesn't want to have to heal burns until he has to. He was there already, after all, and he's waiting for--



That.

He slips into the alley when the light's faded, picking his way with more speed than care; there's the faintest chance she didn't die right away thanks to her shields, and that means he has to finish it now.

Shortly after, he doubles back, circling, knife in hand, headed north.
song_tra_bong: (if i die in a combat zone)

[personal profile] song_tra_bong 2007-08-30 07:22 am (UTC)(link)
"'M after the set heading north," she says, bolting out from behind her cover and working across the courtyard.

She thinks for a moment about asking for back-up, but figures they will when they've dealt with their own (prey) quarry.

Then, the thought gets pushed aside and it's time to think about fighting a man larger than her--about Achilles tendons and the abdominal aorta and the weight of the knives at her hips.

[identity profile] 3rdtimelucky.livejournal.com 2007-08-30 06:50 pm (UTC)(link)
There's a crackle of static, and then Goldy's voice can be heard over the airwaves again.

"For future reference, Hot Stuff, there are four M's on the team. Others may not be as familiar with your sexy tones as I am."

It's wry rather than chastising—apparently she feels a lot better now that her position isn't under attack. While it was, she couldn't get any more shots off, but her eye is back on the scope now, scanning the square for targets.

"G holding," she reports. "Tiger, I still see you and a sorceress. No clear shot though. Get her out in the open and I'll try and take care of those shields."

[identity profile] theredstars.livejournal.com 2007-09-04 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
An ambush is utterly chaotic. Even the attackers, who know its coming, can't really keep track of everything that's going on. In the first few seconds a full half of the twelve-person Red strike team are hit. Against most opponents this would be enough to break the enemy, and the rest of the action would simply be mopping up the disorganized survivors. But these are some of the most elite troops the Reds have, and they respond immediately.

As Goldy looks on from her perch, Miho finds herself in the center of the plaza (http://runmakitarun.livejournal.com/7114.html?thread=84938#t84938) facing down a furious sorceress and her bleeding guardsman.

After literally blowing off a guardsman's head, Mel finds herself heading east (http://runmakitarun.livejournal.com/7114.html?thread=85194#t85194) after his sorceress.

Once Makita's found cover she looks up to see her own target sorceress running westward (http://runmakitarun.livejournal.com/7114.html?thread=85706#t85706), so Makita leaps up and sprints in pursuit.

Mary Anne finds herself moving north (http://runmakitarun.livejournal.com/7114.html?thread=86218#t86218) pursuing the only surviving sorceress-guardsman team to make it out of the ambush.

Krauser already prepared the south path (http://runmakitarun.livejournal.com/7114.html?thread=89546#t89546) out of the plaza, after the explosion all he'll need to do is walk in and finish things.