Some survive, some do not
Dec. 31st, 2007 04:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
runmakitarun0:26:30
Trust your dropline magnet. It will hold your weight. Still sprinting forward, Makita hits the dropline release on her harness and reaches back to pull the SWORD from her shoulder. The end of the Hydra's barrel arrives and she pours on a final burst of speed and flings herself out into nothing. The line spools out and the catches as designed. Makita's headlong leap slams to a sudden halt and she falls, the line swinging her back toward the barrel. She pulls her legs up and swings into the opening, nearly choking on the gases despite the mask across her face.
0:26:25
Assemble your weapon and prepare it to fire as quickly as possible. Makita's hands fly across the bulk of the SWORD. She's never fired one before, but they're designed for simplicity and it only takes a few seconds to peel back the protective covers on each end and arm the warhead.
If you are lucky, then you will see the light at the end of the barrel as the crew opens the breech to reload. All is dark in the barrel, and Makita wonders if they've already reloaded. If she's about to be launched with the next shell. But no. There is a groaning sound and the breach opens. Men are silhouetted against the glare inside the Hydra.
This is the moment. Fire. The trigger is pulled back and the massive rocket screams down the Hydra's barrel. The fuel-air payload will entire krawl with explosive vapor and then blow the entire vehicle to bits. If it works. She doesn't have time to watch.
0:26:03
Now it is time for the second jump with your dropline. As before the distance is preset, just hit the release and jump. The distance is preset based on the Hydra's barrel to stop you a meter short of the ground. Give or take a few meters. Makita throws down the empty SWORD launcher, hits the dropline release, and throws herself backwards out of the barrel while the rocket is still in the air. She twists in the air as she falls to find that she's going to land on a pile of rubble that's likely to break something important. Hopefully her dropline is misconfigured to pull her up short.
By now there's so much Stimulant D in her system that it doesn't occur to her to try to land somewhere else, and jerking to a sudden stop a few feet above the rubble is a huge surprise which rips her hat from her head. She hangs there for a moment, swinging bemusedly, before she remembers she's supposed to take the dropline harness off now.
0:25:45
She collapses to the ground, swaying slightly, unable to focus with all the colors swirling in front of her. "Makita!" a voice yells in her ear. "Shake it off! You got through and they've sounded the evacuate. Let's go!"
Two boys about her own age are at her side, one grabs each arm and they haul her to her feet. She tries to run, but her legs don't seem to work properly, so they drag her. Her head lolls slightly as she looks over her shoulder muttering, "C'mon... blow you bastard."
"Listen!" one of the boys says, pausing. "Listen! It's starting to go up!"
The other boy forces them back into motion, "So let's not be here when it does!"
Colors swirl and Makita only half realizes that they're running again as her father's words roll on. If you have survived the unforgiving moments of your duty. And your shot has found its mark. If the dropline has not failed you, leaving you lying broken in the snow. You will hear behind you the thunder of the Hydra's arsenal ripping out it's insides.
0:24:38
There will be, I can say with certainty, a great roar of victory. Two thirds of the anti-Hydra team have been wiped out, but those who survive scream their defiance. Their voices rise in celebration and then are drowned out as the explosions within the massive krawl reaches the primary magazine.
0:24:12
Dushka, little babbling Dushka, survived the Hydra somehow. He's kneeling in front of Makita as her swimming head slowly clears from the Stimulant D. He's saying something and holding out a canteen and her hat (who knows how he recovered it). The words don't register but she snatches the offered water and upturns the container over her head, catching some in her mouth and letting the rest soak into her hair. "Dushka," she interrupts.
"Yeah?"
She lifts her free finger to her lips, "Shhhhh."
He sighs and grins stupidly, "Okay."
"Thanks for the water." She leans forward and kisses him lightly on his grimy cheek.
"You're welcome," he blushes.
She claps the hat back on top of her head. "I gotta go."
0:23:28
Makita runs.
Mostly cribbed from Red Star Annual #1 "Run Makita Run" by Christian Gossett.
Trust your dropline magnet. It will hold your weight. Still sprinting forward, Makita hits the dropline release on her harness and reaches back to pull the SWORD from her shoulder. The end of the Hydra's barrel arrives and she pours on a final burst of speed and flings herself out into nothing. The line spools out and the catches as designed. Makita's headlong leap slams to a sudden halt and she falls, the line swinging her back toward the barrel. She pulls her legs up and swings into the opening, nearly choking on the gases despite the mask across her face.
0:26:25
Assemble your weapon and prepare it to fire as quickly as possible. Makita's hands fly across the bulk of the SWORD. She's never fired one before, but they're designed for simplicity and it only takes a few seconds to peel back the protective covers on each end and arm the warhead.
If you are lucky, then you will see the light at the end of the barrel as the crew opens the breech to reload. All is dark in the barrel, and Makita wonders if they've already reloaded. If she's about to be launched with the next shell. But no. There is a groaning sound and the breach opens. Men are silhouetted against the glare inside the Hydra.
This is the moment. Fire. The trigger is pulled back and the massive rocket screams down the Hydra's barrel. The fuel-air payload will entire krawl with explosive vapor and then blow the entire vehicle to bits. If it works. She doesn't have time to watch.
0:26:03
Now it is time for the second jump with your dropline. As before the distance is preset, just hit the release and jump. The distance is preset based on the Hydra's barrel to stop you a meter short of the ground. Give or take a few meters. Makita throws down the empty SWORD launcher, hits the dropline release, and throws herself backwards out of the barrel while the rocket is still in the air. She twists in the air as she falls to find that she's going to land on a pile of rubble that's likely to break something important. Hopefully her dropline is misconfigured to pull her up short.
By now there's so much Stimulant D in her system that it doesn't occur to her to try to land somewhere else, and jerking to a sudden stop a few feet above the rubble is a huge surprise which rips her hat from her head. She hangs there for a moment, swinging bemusedly, before she remembers she's supposed to take the dropline harness off now.
0:25:45
She collapses to the ground, swaying slightly, unable to focus with all the colors swirling in front of her. "Makita!" a voice yells in her ear. "Shake it off! You got through and they've sounded the evacuate. Let's go!"
Two boys about her own age are at her side, one grabs each arm and they haul her to her feet. She tries to run, but her legs don't seem to work properly, so they drag her. Her head lolls slightly as she looks over her shoulder muttering, "C'mon... blow you bastard."
"Listen!" one of the boys says, pausing. "Listen! It's starting to go up!"
The other boy forces them back into motion, "So let's not be here when it does!"
Colors swirl and Makita only half realizes that they're running again as her father's words roll on. If you have survived the unforgiving moments of your duty. And your shot has found its mark. If the dropline has not failed you, leaving you lying broken in the snow. You will hear behind you the thunder of the Hydra's arsenal ripping out it's insides.
0:24:38
There will be, I can say with certainty, a great roar of victory. Two thirds of the anti-Hydra team have been wiped out, but those who survive scream their defiance. Their voices rise in celebration and then are drowned out as the explosions within the massive krawl reaches the primary magazine.
0:24:12
Dushka, little babbling Dushka, survived the Hydra somehow. He's kneeling in front of Makita as her swimming head slowly clears from the Stimulant D. He's saying something and holding out a canteen and her hat (who knows how he recovered it). The words don't register but she snatches the offered water and upturns the container over her head, catching some in her mouth and letting the rest soak into her hair. "Dushka," she interrupts.
"Yeah?"
She lifts her free finger to her lips, "Shhhhh."
He sighs and grins stupidly, "Okay."
"Thanks for the water." She leans forward and kisses him lightly on his grimy cheek.
"You're welcome," he blushes.
She claps the hat back on top of her head. "I gotta go."
0:23:28
Makita runs.
Mostly cribbed from Red Star Annual #1 "Run Makita Run" by Christian Gossett.
