NationStates Jolt Archive

Deep in Mereshka, there is science facility, one of the only ones in the country, which is far behind in technological terms. It is probably this reason that the things they did was at all possible. They were not hindered by what modern scientists consider impossible, nor do they even know of these impossibilities. And so, the theory that perhaps a person could survive forever, without food, sleep, or water, on their own blood, which would have been laughed off in any modern country, had been embraced by the scientists at the facility.

The experiments, which normally would have been impossible with the level of technology in the country, was made possible by some remnant technology left behind by the more modern nations which had fought in the country in the recent civil war. The most importan experiment, was done by one by the name of Aserivka Tekeyu, or as he was now known as, the Blood Father. He was the one who introduced the theory of survival on blood, and the first to test it on a human subject. As this was Mereshka, and noone ever sold their body for 'witchcraft', the subject had been kidnapped from a nearby village.

He began this experiment with barbaric methods, a result of the lack of any sort of surgery in Mereshka. After several of his subjects died, many from infection from the things he was pumping into their blood, he decided to go to modern countries for help in his experiments. He finally found a corporation willing to supply both technology and the specialists to use them. With this outside help, he finally made some progress in his experiments.

One of the first things he discovered, was that women were much more likely to survive the experiments, and so began to use women almost exclusively. And finally, after nearly two years of futile efforts, he discovered a way to breed two viruses together, and inject them into the human system, and getting the results he desired. However, one of the things he did not forsee, was that the women he'd been succesful with, began to thirst for blood. Her body used up the blood, and any wounds bled profusely. After an incident when she killed two of the workers, and drained them of their blood, she escaped from the facility.

The scientist then swore he would not continue his experiments, and packed up, returning home, and telling noone of his experiments. However, people in the surrounding country began to dissapear, and with the facility abandoned, there was no explanation. And in each of the homes of the dissapeared, there was blood everywhere, yet no body. As the number of dissapearences increased, the populace began to whisper of zherya, or vampires. The entire county was abondaned, yet soon the dissapearences began happening throughout the clan, and the vampires declared it their own. As such, a squad was formed to fight the clan, calling for outside help. And the first target of this squad: the facility where the experiments had been conducted, in the heart of the Blood Clan.

OOC: WooT!! My longest post ever!! I'm sorry that it took me so long to get this thing up guys, I'll announce the beggining of the mission in the HQ thread, then we can start posting here.

OOC: Is this open?

OOC: Yep, I'll add a thread to the sign-up in a sec.

OOC: Hmm.. was this mysterious corporation the Winchester corporation...? (SECTION ZERO REFERENCE!)

IC:
Frank nearly wrenched the door of the Osprey, flicking various switches and mashing various buttons to get it running. "Allright, everyone, Pile right on in! Don't be afraid of your neighbor, they probably won't bite until you come back, ha ha!"

OOC: Uh.. Mereshka, we gonna start?

OOC: Sorry, didn't know you edited.

IC: Svekra scowled at Frank as he gingerly got in the Osprey. "Don't say something like that. This demon makes me nervous enough as it is." Saya sighed. "We've discussed this Svekra, its not a demon. Its a vehicle." Svekra just snorted.

Frank laughed. "I caught snippets of this, don't worry, even if it is a demon, its the demons you want on your side. Just watch when we get near the blood clan."

OOC: IC Post coming tomorrow morning. It's pretty late here right now.

OOC: Alrighty.

IC: Svekra sighed. "Whatever you say. But if I burn to death, I am haunting you."

Frank laughed again. "Don't worry, this thing is safer then your mothers womb, no arrows will get through here, and I can probably dodge a catapult. Note the probably, not to sure about that, but hey, if they fire that at me, I'm pretty sure some metal rain will find them real quick."

Svekra once again showed his complete lack of knowledge of the modern world by saying, "You really are a witch!! You can control the weather, and cause it to do something so unnatural."

Frank laughed. "I wish. See that little mound of dirt out there?" He thumbed the firing stun, twin chin mounted chain guns blazed, filling the cabin with the sound of ripping cloth, reducing the mound to little more then flecks of dirt. "Thats what it is. Its called a machine gun, its fires metal slugs, like an arrow without a shaft, but far faster."

Sirius took the firearms she'd carry this mission from their cases and slung them over her shoulders. She felt a little weighed down, but after a moment she decided it was her imagination. She set to MULE to hold position and jogged to reach the Osprey. Upon boarding she took a position on the right side of the cabin, directly next to the rear ramp. She liked being one of the first people into the fight.

Sirius pulled the M-95M rifle from her shoulder and deftly worked the action on the weapon, chambering a massive .50 caliber round. She looked at the others on the aircraft as she disengaged the safety and flipped up the lens-caps on the M68 CCO red-dot sight and affixed a 3x magnifier behind this sight. She sighted in and shifted the weapon for balance. She removed the bipod on the rifle and in its place affixed a reversed grip, which tilt downward and towward the muzzle, unlike most military grips.

"This baby's insurance until I get my .50 shipped over here. She'll make this monster look like a harmless kitten."

A malicious smirk overtook her face. She removed her glasses and put in contact lenses, then put on a pair of violet tinted shooter's glasses.

"Let's get this op rolling."

OOC: RS isn't going to be around any time soon. He decided to join this thread when he'd be away working at a camp without internet-access all summer, like always. He might be around once every week, but that's all we can bet on. Just a heads-up.

ooc:Can I get in on this?

OOC: Sure, I'll get a link to the sign-up, as I recall promising someone else I'd do...oops...

IC: Svekra grinned and lossened his katana in his sheath. "Would you be willing to wager on who kills the most, devil woman?"

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=558373 Sign-ups

"Sure, you win, you can call me whatever you want. I win, you can only call me a witch, frankly I kind of like being 'the witch'."

Svekra laughed. "It sounds like a fair wager to me, demon woman. Out of curiosity, why do you like the name witch? Is it a compliment in your country?"

"No, its just that I'm used to it. Besides, through out history, all over the world, witches have been both feared and persecuted. They held the power to influence the lives of others without their victims knowing what was coming. For that they were hunted and tortured, usually killed. That pretty well describes my life, one persecution and torture after another."

She shook her head.

"It's also easier for people to remember than 'Sirius' when they need to get my attention."

Svekra looked rather sheepish. "Ah, what does torture and, uhm, perse...persecution? Yes, what do those words mean?"

"Torture in its most basic definition is causing pain on another, usually to get information. In my case it's always been for someone's sick f***ed amusement."

She sounded bitter.

"Persecution is the act of constantly pursuing a person or group, with the intention of destroying them, driving them off, or bending them to your will. I get that a lot in Shenyang. Lots of terrorist groups would love it if I was dead and gone. Sorry about the bitter attitude, lets just say it hits a nerve."

She sounded much more calm, though her voice still carried an edge of anger.

Svekra coughed. "That is not right. One should not do those things for enjoyment. I am sorry you went throught that."

From farther in the Osprey Saya laughed. "Aww, you really are just a softie, aren't you Svekra?" She teased. Svekra looked rather indignant at that. "That is not true Empress!! She is a demon woman and I will burn her eventually!!"

"No, he's not being soft, he's right. No one should have to go through what I went through. But the people responsible are imprisoned..."

She looked back out the rear hatch.

"...even though I'd prefer then dead."

Svekra nodded. "I do not know these people, but I agree with you. They should die for something such as that." He grinned. "Worry not, demon woman, I will make sure you are comfortable before I purify your soul." He said this normally threating phrase in an oddly friendly fashion.

"Well that's probably the nicest threat I've ever recieved."

Sirius nodded and the smirk wavered into a smile, only for a moment though.

Svekra laughed. "I am superstitous, not cruel. There is a difference, though I'll admit the line is a little blurred sometimes. Hmm...I'll bet burning to death hurts...Tell ya what, I will find someway to make it painless for you. Ah! I know, there is a plant some warriors chew before a fight, to make them feel no pain. I will give you some of that!!"

"You know, I could just kill myself. It'd be the more honorable approach to things. After all, I am a warrior. Not the same kind as you and your people, but a warrior no less. Burning, though fully valid for witches, is a little dishonorable for a career soldier like myself."

Svekra cocked his head in confusion. "Why would you do that? Whoever said suicide is honorable? Suicide is an escape for cowards."

OOC: Thats one of the differences between Mereshkan and Japanese culture.

"Throughout history, there have been certain forms of suicide that simply took so much will to perform that they've been viewed as honorable. Anyone can poison themself, and most people are capable of making a rudimentary noose. In more advanced cultures people have suffocated themselves using gas that would otherwise heat their homes. Stuff like that is the choice of a coward."

She continued on with her history lesson.

"However many cultures have recognized that it takes a special kind of will power to kill oneself by some slow, excruciatingly painful manner. One example is seppuku, ritual disembowlment. Pretty painful stuff, not that I know anyone who's tried. Of course, if you consider suicide a cowardly tactic I'm sure we can come up with something honorable, that doesn't involve burning at the stake."

Frank cleared his throat. "Well, boys an' girls, we ready to get underway? We don't get ready soon this pilot is gonna get slam drunk and probably fly into the nearest hillside."

"We're still waiting on a few people, where the hell they went I do not know."

Saya shrugged. "Tell Frank to get going. No use in waiting up."

Svekra shook his head. "The only reason people commit suicide is to escape life. That means they are too cowardly to face life."

Frank beamed. "Thank'ee Empress Saya!" He clambered into the cockpit, careful to strap his side arm into the seat next to him. 'All of you who've never flown Frank airlines... welcome to air sick heaven!" The Osprey bumped once as it took off. "Turbulence, sorry!" it only took a second to correct before they were up and over the Imperial Palace.

"Unless you know what's waiting for you is worse than anything you'll endure in life."

She made that statement bluntly, just as something to mull over.

"I aim to keep going as long as possible, that way I don't find out what the afterlife holds for a professional killer until I have to."

She braced, just as the aircraft jolted violently, sending gear sprawling on the floor. Then fiercely screamed into her radio on Frank's channel.

"GODAMMIT! Can't you keep this thing stable?! I know trainees that could keep one of these from jolting like that!"

She looked back to Svekra.

"I'm willing to bet I end up in either an unending battle, or a pit of eternal torment. Neither's a very good option if you ask me."

Svekra tapped his chin. "But it depends on why you kill. If you were to kill chilren for no reason other than enjoyment, than yes, you would endure eternal torment. But, if you were to go to battle for a just cause, then surely you would be rewarded. You do not kill children, do you?"

Frank steadied the Osprey. "Sorry, carrying a bit more firepower then I'm used to, think I've got the hang of it now." The Osprey stabilized then roared over the Mereshkan countryside. "Here's hoping some peasant doesn't mistake us for some flying demon!"

Saya laughed. "Don't worry about it. All they'll do is either go to the local priest, or throw a rock. Bow at the most."

"I kill whoever is trying to kill me. If I didn't I wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation. I've never personally killed a child, so that we have that out of the way. Anyone can delude themself into thinking murder is for the greater good. Assassins throughout history have used that as their defense. I kill for my convictions, others kill for theirs. Where we end up in the end isn't based on our petty perceptions of right and wrong."

"Well, what are your convictions? I'd assume that you don't enjoy killing, do you?"

Frank set the Osprey in hover. "Now uh... where exactly are we going? Don't exactly have a road map of Mereshka."

Saya laughed and pulled out a map of Mereshka. She drew a circle around their detinsation. "Here, this is the target."

Frank nodded, then pulled out a small idol. "Please be a hot zone, please be a hot zone..." He muttered, then slipped it back into his jacket. Edward joined the conversation. "I don't enjoy killing, but it's my duty. I kill to protect my ideals, as well as myself."

Svekra nodded. "And that, my friend, is perfectly acceptable."

Saya shook her head. "Nope, all of the vampires have retreated to the facility, I sent some samurai in to clear the way for us."

"I kill people that are a threat. Pure and simple. Good and evil have nothing to do with it, if I accept a mission then I'll do whatever I have to until it's done. I think the 'worst' thing I've done..."

She considered a moment.

"I once bombed a wedding. It's cruel, but the ends often justify the means. Not always, but often."

Svekra frowned. As mentioned, wedding are very big in Mereshka, and often include entire towns or villages, or in the case of a Shogun, entire clans. "And what exactly was the end?"

Frank lowered his head, lacing his words with fake sorrow. "Awww, damn..."

Jefferson nodded. "As long as you achieved your objective, the means by which doesn't matter, nor does the mission, The duty of a soldier isn't to protect people, its to follow orders, even if it means doing something like that."

"The end... it was a while back, maybe my second or third mission... a terrorist leader was in attendence, we would have just shot him from range, but that would have been too obvious. It wasn't a big event, only about a dozen people, counting me, and we managed to keep the civilian casualties minimal. Total casualties was... 6, only one was a civilian. The media claimed it was infighting within the terrorist leadership."

She shrugged.

"Bride and groom were okay, though the dress was pretty much wrecked as I recall. Not sure what happened beyond that though."

Svekra lauguhed, "Then you are a good person, if that is the worst thing you have done. Demon woman though you are, I believe you will have a good afterlife."

Frank leaned back, a look of suprise on his face. "Nearing a pretty good LZ, suprised we got here so quickly, keep forgetting how small Mereshka is."

"I also nearly beat a man to death once, for suggesting I go out with him. He spent 2 months in critical condition, and another year learning to function like a normal human again."

Sirius retightened the vest, which had worked it's way loose... again.

"Just figured you deserved a heads-up."

Svekra started. "Why did you do that? My, your country is different. In Mereshka, it is considered a compliment to the woman in question for a man to ask her out. It usually means that the man thinks she is beautiful, or has a good personality. It is different in your country?"

"Different all over the world Sverka, in the Union its pretty much the woman who decides who she goes out with, even though its the man who makes the first move. Bit of a shame really... but hey, I got lucky here." Edward shrugged. "Guess I'll be getting married after all this is over."

Svekra laughed. "Indeed And I will make sure to attend the wedding." He thought for a second. "Hmm...Maybe it it time I married..."

Edward grinned then elbowed Svekra. "What about that geisha, eh? She was quite a looker."

Svekra'seyes widened, then he laughed. "Ah, Edward my friend. You still have much to learn of our culture. It is not proper for a warrior, much less a Shogun, to marry a Geisha. It is allowed for them to be, ah, how do you say...sweetheart? Yes, that is allowed, but marriage is not. Though I admit, if it were allowed, I would leap at the chance. But alas, it is not so."

Svekra'seyes widened, then he laughed. "Ah, Edward my friend. You still have much to learn of our culture. It is not proper for a warrior, much less a Shogun, to marry a Geisha. It is allowed for them to be, ah, how do you say...sweetheart? Yes, that is allowed, but marriage is not. Though I admit, if it were allowed, I would leap at the chance. But alas, it is not so."

Edward looked confused until Jefferson gave a sharp cough to cover his words. "Redlight." Edward mouthed "oh." The smiled. "Ah, I get it, a little extra 'friendship'. Well, You'll find someone, when I met Airya she couldn't stop staring at me. Probably because of all the blood stains."

Svekra smiled and shook his head. "Ah, if only it were so my friend, but, I'm sure my marriage will be for political reasons, as most Shogun marriages are. I am happy that you have found someone for you that is acceptable for a Shogun marriage."

"I think you missed my meaning. I suffer from 'anti-social personality disorder', focused specifically against men. That is coupled with my 'post-traumatic stress disorder'. Basically it means that I don't play nice, and I don't care. Or, if you will, I'm one screwed up chick.

Svekra smiled at Sirius. "Wll then, we'll just have to help you get over that, won't we? Not all men are bad."

He turned back to Edward. "Haha, I could imagine how something like that could bring a man and a woman together. Although, it does sort of sound like a bad romance novel..."

Edward smiled. "Yeah... wasn't for political reasons. Saved her life. It was kind of awkward for a while after that, but hey." He opened his hands. 'Look where I am now?"

"Not happening. I'm not as bad as I used to be, or so they say. But I'm not going to be looking into finding someone any time soon. I'm married to my work anyway."

Her smirk grew wider.

"When we landing this thing? My leg's falling asleep."

Svekra shrugged. "Ask the witch whom controls the thing." A thought suddenly came to him, and he blushed. "Ah, I hope this does not seem rude but, ah, do you...well... prefer women to men in...other ways?"

Frank bounced the Osprey off the ground before finally settling it down. "hows that for a landing, huh? All right boys and girls, nap time's over, now its play time! Get out there and kick some ass!" He dropped the ramp as quickly as he could. "Just call if you need any fire support, love to give this baby a workout!"

"In a word, no. I'll give you credit, you're the first person to actually stand up and ask. Just bacause I have a problem with men doesn't mean that I'm a lesbian. I've been described as 'Interesting, but Not Interested' by some of the men I know back home."

She paused a moment.

"Normally I like to keep people guessing, but to be honest I haven't put any thought into it in the past several years."

She looked down at her vest, rolled her eyes and tightened it one last time.

"Though I did almost try it once. Only once."

Sirius unbuckled herself from her harness and quickly exited the aircraft, hefting the M95M rifle at her shoulder with relative ease. She swept the area directly off the tail for movement and spotted someone approaching.

"Movement, 400 meters."

She sighted in on the source of the movement.

A solid shotgun slung spun towards the target, a sickening splashing sound echoed from where it was. "Suhweet jesus." Frank whistled. "I knew my sidearm was good, but damn, that was good." He hefted a modified Franchi Spas 12. "Now that was smooth." Edward said. "Now everyone knows were coming."

OOC: You're using a SPAS-12 at over 1500 feet? That's more than a little beyond effective range... like by 10 times.

Svekra grinned, and unsheathed his katana, and ran down the ramp. Saya took only the time to say, "You guys provide cover while me and Svekra handle melee." She said before sprinting down the ramp after him.

OOC: You're using a SPAS-12 at over 1500 feet? That's more than a little beyond effective range... like by 10 times.

OOC: Note the modification.... and its meant to be a little over the top. Frank's using a shotgun as a sidearm, what do you think his primary arm is gonna be?

IC:

Edward shrugged. "Typical..." He muttered. He unslung his M-8 and checked the ammo. "Well, while they're dicing 'em up close quarters, what do you say to having a little target practice, eh?" Jefferson and Patrick noded, weapons at the ready. "Lets do this!"

OOC: A little over the top is 60-80 meters. 400 meters is mid-range for most sniper rifles, and very long range for assault rifles. To hit a target at that range with anything short of an AR is nearly impossible.

Svekra grinned as he slashed at a nearby vamp, cutting it nearly in half. There were relatively few vampires in the clearing, only about thirty or so, as this was one of the few remaining pockets of resistance against the samurai Saya had sent to clear the way. They were of course taken by surprise, and still being Mereshkan, were scared half to death of the chopper, not to mention the people that could kill with a bang by pointing it at someone.

Sirius peered through the scope at the downed form, and decided two things very quickly. It was a deer, and it had died of a heart attack, as she saw no holes in it anywhere.

"Well, chalk up one dead deer to our kill score."

Sirius began moving, jogging to find a better position.

OOC: Right.. but over the top, like I said.


Edward tapped his radio. "Hey Frank, you've got one kill. Doe that died from a heart attack." He laughed. 'We're gonna need some air cover here, we'll call if we need it." He jogged up to sirius and handed her a device. "Laser Designator, keyed specificaly for Frank's Osprey. You ever need air support, paint your target and it'll be gone in half a second."

A vampire tried to block Sirius's path, she sighted through the dot-sight atop the rifle and send a .50 caliber round through the vampire at point blank range, the monster nearly tore in half from the impact. With a smooth, almost elegant movement she chambered a new round, then proceeded to rifle butt a vampire in the chest, whipping the rifle around and firing into the winded monster. The twin .50 caliber rounds created a report like small explosions in the clearing. Sirius's ears were ringing. Another reload and she slung the weapon in favor of one of the Five-seveN pistols strapped to her hip.

Svekra laughed as he sliced another of the vampires heads off, before stabbing another through the heart behind him. He pulled away, cutting anothers throat in the same instance. The vampires soon began to run away. They could have handled being attack by humans that outnumbered them by three to one, and stayed and fought, but these magic men (and a magic woman) were simply too much. They soon retreated to the facility. Svekra laughed, called to Siruis, "My kill count is four!"

Jefferson whistled as he sent a burst through the nearest vampire. "Nice form." Edward laughed, then ducked a wild swipe by a vamp and lodged a knife in his heart. "Careful what you say, might end up on life support."

"Mine's four, 2 on the fifty, 2 with the pistol, we're still tied."

She shouldered the fifty and sighted on a fleeing vamp. She pulled the trigger, creating another explosion of heat and sound. The high performance round caught the beast right as it began to evaporate into the woods.

"Five."

Not to be outdone, Svekra an down another vampire, stabbing it through the neck. "Still tied, demon woman!" With that however, there were no more vampires to kill.=, as they'd all retreated into the facility.

"Well, let's get to it. Into the creepy, slightly run down facility full of blood-sucking vampires."

She readied her pistol.

Patrick smiled. "So they ran. Edward, want to do the honors?" Edward cracked a skeletal grin. "With pleasure." He activated his laser designator and held the jittering beam on the door. "Now would be as good of a time as any, Frank." A high pitched yell of joy shot across the radio, the Osprey hovered above the edge of the facility. "Stand back boys and girls, this place is gonna go up higher then the fourth of July!" He unleashed a few salvos of rockets, followed by an extended burst from the chain guns. "Oy, knock knock!"

"The creepy, slightly run down, partially demolitioned by and airstrike facility; full of angry, half-deaf, blood sucking vampires with ringing ears and shrapnel wounds. Joy."

Svekra grinned. "Oh come on, surely you're not scared by a few vampires are you, demon woman?" Saya sighed. "Stop pestering her and get going Svekra." Svekra laughed. "Yes ma'am." He started running towards the facility.

"Urban combat is dangerous at best and our entrance isn't exactly covert, which means they'll know we're coming."

She brought up the pistol and started heading for the building.

"Wasn't exactly covert to begin with. Now that they know we're coming, might as well drown them in blood." Jefferson was the first in. 'Entrance secure, bodies and bits of bodies, nothing else. Holding position." Edward and Patrick followed him. "Hope everyone has strong stomachs."

Svekra completly ignored the blood and gore, but Saya looked faintly sick, but she looked around and said. "Hmm...I'm surprised we haven't been attacked yet. They have to know we're here."

Sirius entered next, pretty much ignoring the fact that she was standing in other people.

"I've got the reception area."

Sirius quickly attached a suppressor to her pistol and entered a small reception lobby off the main entrance. It only took a few moments.

"All clear, what the hell is this place?"

"This is the place where the vamps were first made. I figured that we should be able to find notes or some such, detailing exactly how the vampires were made, and any possible weaknesses."

"Floor plan and layout reminds me of... Winchester Corporation." Edward shifted through some ash. "Find something - anything with the Winchester Corps logo, Gilded W set upon an emerald shield. Might explain how they got this stuff... Winchester Corps is the public 'face' of section zero."

"Bullets seem to work."

She looked through the items in the room she was standing in.

"I think they primarilly targetted women for research. Given the reading material here. Though it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong, this stuff isn't really my style anyway."

"How many times does this company have to be shut down? I've got a Shenyangi biotech brochure here, Gemini Pharmacueticals. They were big suppliers of chemicals and drugs until they were caught doing illegal research."

She flipped through the pamphlet.

"Looks like they provided the chemicals for the tests here. It sounds right up their alley too. No idea who fronted the cash though."

Saya shook her head. "It may work when you shoot, but most people aren't that good an aim, nor have fifty cals at their disposal. Bullets usually don't work very well. Hmm...Why women? Well, gather up the papers, we don't really want to be along when..." Suddenly, there were vampires surrounding them. "Well, so much for that." The vampires dissapeared, apparently invisible. Svekra scowled. "This doesn't look like fun..." A taunting voice floated around the room. Oh come, allow us to have our little game. Its fair after all, you do have demons on your side. A vampire appeared behind Svekra, delivering a slash that was barely blocked before dissapearing again.

Jefferson waved his hand. "Found something!" He rushed over. "Transaction for... two billion dollars, along with various medical systems, chemicals, a few scientists payrolls and...now that's somethings. Entire payroll list for about one hundred merc, looks like... the Dragoon PMC's. Why would they need that much security?"

"I'M NOT A DEMON YOU B****! GET OUT HERE AND FIGHT ME!"

Sirius felt a little stupid screaming at nothing, but it made her feel better.

OOC: Lets just put my last post after shenyangs and before Mereshka's...

IC:

Edward, Jefferson and Patrick all had their weapons at the ready. "Supirsed they said demons, picked up 'the demon' when my sunglasses got knocked off. Scared the hell outta them." Jefferson loaded something into his grenade launcher. "Flare's, lets see how they like bright light." He fired one flare into a corner, reloaded and continued the process until the room was lit up.

Where the vampires were shimmered slightly, before going back to them being completely invisible. Well that wasn't very nice... said a voice right behind Edward, which spawned another attempted strike.

Edward took the blow and felt it skitter off his body armor. "Gotta love Titanium mesh weave." He whirled around only to be facing darkness. "Little annoying, but okay." He took off his sunglasses, red eyes glowing in the darkness. "Well well... look what we have here." The room seemed as bright as day to him, several vampires were either not very good at hiding or preparing for a strike. He raised his assault rifle and fired several bursts at the few that were visible.

"Fine, I'll do this the easy way."

Sirius grabbed the helmet that had been strapped to her back since she'd arrived and fitted it over her head. It encased her head, and she felt a familiar feeling as the internal systems spooled up, activating active thermal tracking. Anything approaching human temperature registered in her field of view.

She watched carefully for any abnormal signatures.

OOC: Damn I miss a lot. Um, can someone fill me in?

OOC: Take off, lots of talking, Sirius is confirmed to have 'Anti-Social Personality Disorder', land, fighting. Cue air support...

Enter modern, possibly post-modern medical facility, stand in lobby. Begin searching and fighting nearly invisible vampires.

Justin looked at the helmet. "Fancy." he whistled. "You get thermal imaging and I get homemade explosives. Seems a fair trade off."

OOC: Go godmodding. Oh yeah. Go godmodding. Long live the godmod. At least for good purposes.

IC:

Kevin da Vincho suddenly burst through the door. "There you guys are! I haven't seen you the whole time! Where have you been?"

All weapons were on Kevin. "Draw your weapon and get in the damn circle! Don't just stand there move!" Edward fired a burst at a moving shadow, a single corpse fell out of the darkness. "Don't ask, just move!"

Kevin quickly jumped into the circle. "What's going on?" He pulled out his M16 and two Desert Eagles.

Justin drew his Colt .38. "We're hunting vampires in near total darkness. What else would we be doing in this place?"

"But there's no one here?"

"You idiot. Can you not see how dark it is? They're in hiding." Justin literally took a shot in the dark and a scream told him he his the mark. "See? Nobody's there." he said in a mocking tone.

"Oh." Kevin immediately opened fire on everything around them. He was bound to hit one or two-and he did hit one or two.

Justin whacked Kevin on the back of his head. "Are you really that stupid? Save your ammo for when you know something's there. Besides, we need the equipment in working condition!"

"OK then..." Kevin saw a shadow move, shot it, and was rewarded.

"Much better." Justin said.

Sirius looked around.

"The problem with thermal is that its only got a 50% efficiency against these things, its like shooting at flickers of heat, not constant contacts."

She took a shot with her pistol, and saw one drop.

"That one was luck. Screw this."

Sirius holstered the pistol and once more brought out the .50 cal. With a few quick motions she'd changed the barrel from the standard 74cm down to an 46cm barrel with the same massive break on the end.

"Bolt-action worked in the 1900's and it'll damn well work now."

Sirius hefted the weapon, flipped the magnifier out of the way and sighted in.

"Bring the rain 'Victor', bring the rain."

Sirius pulled the trigger and the enormous rifle sent a round across the room. It sounded like a grenade had gone off, and the muzzle flash briefly illuminated Sirius's adjoining room. The overpressure whipped her hair into disarray as gouts of fire flew out of the muzzle break and around her.

A thoroughly halved vampire fell before her. She reloaded, but nothing appeared on thermal.

With that, the vampires began to concentrate soley on Sirius, appearing right behind her, attempting to strike while she was off guard.

Edward immediatly saw them. "SIRIUS! DUCK!" He opened fire on the vamps, cutting through most of them. 'Like picking on one person, eh? Like trying to tear out one person, huh? You things need to learn that I'm alot more of a threat then her!"

Sirius swung the rifle around, not to fire, but rather as a 24 pound metal club. The weapon connected with one vampire with a sickening thud, she watched it crumple to the ground as she let go of the rifle, dropping it to her sling and pulling her pistol and one of her combat daggers.

She began fighting up close, the massive anti-materiel rifle she'd been using hung diagonally across her chest as she fought.

She embedded the knife in the chest of one vampire whilst pistol-whipping another, then putting 2 5.7mm holopoints into its skull.

"If anyone wants to give me a hand, now would be a fine time to jump in."

Svekra and Saya immeadietly jumped in, melee being where Mereshkans shine. Svekra grinned as he impaled a vampire. "Of course we would not let you have all the fun, demon woman."

Edward joined in the fight, Katan dicing through vampires. "Hm, you figure they'd try going for each of us individualy. Ah well, this is more...fun." He cleaved another's head off, then rammed his Katan through the gut of another. Jefferson and Patrick stayed back, picking off any that attempted to join the fight.

"Thanks, I could do this all day, but I'd prefer to keep doing what I do best."

She dropped another vampire, her gear was getting spattered with blood rather quickly.

"I'd debate your claim as to who's more dangerous Ed, last I checked I was the one with the rifle that can put half-inch holes in APCs.

Edward smiled and sliced another vampire apart. "Ah, but I'm the guy who can take those half-inch shells and keep coming. Just you wait."

"The real question is, can you take 10 HE-I rounds in the chest and still reach me. High Explosive - Incendiary rounds do a number on, pretty much everything."

"HE might slow me down," He ducked a wild slash then liberated the arm. "But incindeary, that'll stop me right there."

"Shenyangi 13th SOU, we come prepared, for anything. Never know when an inconvenient APC will get in the way, especially when you find this kind of place in a nation with, no offense, 'severely-dated' technology."

Sirius ducked back from the group, they'd been stuck in these lobbies for too long. She prepped the big gun and got ready to kick in some doors.

"As much as I'd love to stand here, we should keep moving, turn this into a running fight."

Sirius flipped a small dial on the helmet and boosted the gain on the thermals. This usually lead to the system losing focus, but against vamps it just made them actually appear.

She looked at a door, then pumped two rounds through the wall, equally spaced, three forms cooled from beyond the wall. She reloaded and kicked in the door.

Kevin pulled out a sword and immediately started dueling with one vampire who had stepped out of the light. It was an honor-type thing.

Justin drew his new katana and went to Kevin's aid, driving the sword into the vampire's gut. "You're welcome." he said, taking note of what else was moving. "And if you want HE, I've got a nasty little piece of work around here somewhere. But I agree, let's move." he jogged after Sirius.

Edward shrugged. "Gotta love stealth." He followed Siruis into the room, Jefferson and Patrick followed moments later, bringing up the rear. "Wow... this is..." Edward was refering to the rather large Winchester Corps symbol on the wall, a symbol seemingly carved from pure gold. "Must be some deep involement here."

"Well, what was your first clue?

Sirius swept the room with her thermals, nothing, dead cold. As it were.

Joshua took a flare from a pocket on his vest. "I forgot about these things, Sirius, watch out." he lit it and held it high. "Anybody see anything else worth mentioning?"

"Ha, funny like a crutch." Edward's gaze swept the room. "Its clean, unless they come from some secret hatch, nothing's here." He still kept his assault rifle at the ready. "Of course, thats what we said in Alliston. Didn't quite work out that way."

"Care to elaborate?"

Sirius swept the walls, keeping the flare out of view, so it's bloom was minimal on her thermals.

She was looking for any abnormal openings or heat sources.

"Check out the logo, its freezing on thermal. I'm betting its not just a big metal ornament."

She sighted in on it.

"I'm betting door or safe."

"Well, we'll find out won't we." Edward slammed his fist into it, creating a large dent and an even larger noise. "Definetly a door. Definetly hurt. Explosives if you please."

Justing walked over and handed Edward a few shaped charges. "Green side opposite where you want the boom." he said, putting a couple along the sides.

Edward chuckled. "I only need to knock the door loose. I'll take it from there." He set a few charges, then ducked behind a desk. "Fire in the hole!" He detonated the charges, a loud groaning filled the room as the few hinges left in tact strained against the massive weight. "Allright, the fun part." He brought his fist against the dent again, this time creaking through, then quickly withdrawing his fist and shaking his hand. "I think I, ah.... got someone. Anyone got some frags?"

Sirius whipped a frag grenade through the hole.

"Frag."

The grenade detonated, and a few errant pieces of shrapnel rocketed back into the room.

"You gonna be okay? Looks like you might've gotten tagged there."

"Well, that works." Justin said as the door fell. "Let's have a look, shall we?" he walked forward and stuck the flare through the opening.

Edward pulled the jagged shard of metal out of his hand as the wound closed up. "Oh, I'm good, just a scratch." He sighted his rifle as he stepped into the room. "Movement, left door way."

Justin quickly handed the flare to his left hand to draw his pistol with his right. "It's a rat Ed."

Sirius diabled the thermals, she couldn't afford the flare causing the severe wash-out it was causing, instead activating a passive UV scan. Any vampires should light-up like christmas trees, provided they were even the least bit light skinned.

She moved in with the big-bore ready.

"Just a warning, if I have to fire, everyone in here is going to have one hell of a headache. We're dealing in permanent hearing damage territory with this baby."

She swept the room for anything abnormal, carefully checking anything she came across.

"Anybody got any earplugs?" Justing asked. "I rather like my hearing."

Sirius reached into her pack and pulled a set of noise cancelling headphones.

"These ought to help, military-grade, they attenuate really loud sounds, but still let you hear conversations and background noises jut fine. They'll help reduce the noise from this thing a bit, but I can't guarantee it'll fully protect you."

She handed them to Justin.

"This helmet has the same type integrated in, just higher tech, and a bit better protection."

"Is that them all?" Kevin asked. He couldn't tell through everything that was going on.

OOC: Take-5!

"My bet is no, but we won't find out until we've cleared this place top to bottom."

Sirius looked around the room, it was a file room, one half was loaded with computer equipment, the other half contained file cabinets. Sirius approached a server tower. She blew dust off one of the scrrens and the device whirred to life.

"It's still got power."

Sirius plugged in a PDA, and attached that to an external hard drive in her pack. Within a minute she had downloaded the entire data log. She accessed the information. It was encrypted.

"Information's encrypted, I'll have the PDA work on it."

Sirius stowed the device.

OOC: Lol!

"How long do you think that could take?"

The PDA pinged softly. Sirius pulled the device from her vest.

"Apparently, 22.7 seconds."

Sirius began scrolling through the data.

"It's badly corrupted, the data storage was seriously screwed up by something, not sure what. Mostly age is my guess."

Sirius looked at the tower, there was a .50 cal hole in it.

"Someone shot this, but it wasn't me, this tower would be slag if I'd put a round into it."

Sirius scrolled further, looking annoyed.

"Wait, I've got something, partial names, dates, a few experiment logs..."

She scrolled further.

"Equipment requests, daily logs, eva... evacuation protocols. Looks like something went very wrong, very quickly. We'll need more time to analyze all of this, but it's not pretty."

"Guess that would explain this then." Edward lifted a dusty and bent M107. "Looks like someone really didn't want to take any chances, this things been modified with a drum round, it looks like."

"Perhaps we could look at this later-maybe we could try to survive this place first?" Kevin questioned. "Gah! I can't see any vampires!"

Sirius rolled her eyes. She reached into her pack and pulled a nightvision monocular.

"Try that, I always have back-ups, incase my main gear fails."

Sirius looked at the computer, the screen was running a digital rain effect. It took her a few moments to register what it was.

"The mainframe is melting down, the entire database is being purged. Good thing I got the data already."

The screen went dark, the hard drives were completely blank.

"Someone check out the files, there might be something useful. Be careful though, anyone willing to use a Barrett on a computer wouldn't be above trapping the cabinets." I'm going to check the next room."

"Thanks for the night-vision binos." Kevin took a look at them while Sirius got the data. When she announced that someone else could take it, Kevin said, "Sure, I'll check them out. I haven't been having much luck with those vampires anyway."

Sirius carefully opened the door, the UV scan didn't work through walls like the thermal. She ensured that she made no sound as she entered, and carefully closed the door over behind her.

She switched to thermal, out of the bloom of the flare. The room lit up in red, only slight patches of blue showed through around the red.

Sirius tensed, she only had half a mag left in the Barrett, she'd have to transition quickly. She was crouched behind an desk.

"Bring the rain." she whispered.

Sirius rose from cover bringing the massive rifle to bear. The weapon thundered as she put a round through a divider in to room, sending splinters flying everywhere.

cycle, click, click... click, click

Another round pounded a shape behind a divider. On the far side the vampire caught the round in the back, having taken cover behind an upturned medical cart.

click, click... click, click.

Sirius ducked and rolled to another piece of cover.

She stayed down and braced with the weapon facing past her feet as she steadied off a divider and the rear wall. A sound of thunder, followed by more muzzle flash. The shock sent paperwork flying, catching fire from the hot gasses. She unhooked her pack, leaving it behind the divider.

click, click... click, click.

She pushed off the wall, her body armor skidding across the floor, shooting sparks. A target presented itself, point blank. The woman recieved a 12.7mm HEI round in the chest, sending her tumbling backward from the shock. The recoil spun Sirius as she slid. She hooked her foot on a desk and whipped around. Sirius whipped her legs, bringing her back up onto her feet.

click, click... click, click.

There were 4 contacts left. She grabbed a high explosive grenade off her vest and whipped it over a divider. She squeezed the trigger.

The center of the room erupted in a hellish detonation. Debris flew past Sirius, and she had to brace off a wall to prevent herself from being thrown as well.

Sirius whipped the Barrett over her shoulder and pulled one of her pistols, sweeping the carnage methodically, one vampire was lying under an upturned bed. It's spine was snapped. Sirius found it and put a round into it's head, partly to put to euthanize it, partly to make sure it couldn't get up.

She retrieved her pack and moved back into the room with the others.

"That room's empty now."

Kevin walked into the room. "Wow, nice work." He took a look at some of the vampires. "Hey... wait. That was Grace-I met her in Kenavt! I though I had done her in..." After seeing the room, Kevin took a look at the PDA. "Hey... a order to kill me."

OOC: Shen, TG.

OOC: Responded.

"Hmm? Why?"

Sirius took a moment to look at her armor, it was scratched to hell, deep scratches from incoming shrapnel along with the lines from sliding across the floor. The black of the panels was throughly worn now, looking like it had seen months of normal use.

Sirius reloaded the pistol and then loaded a new mag into the Barrett, another 10 rounds of death and destruction.

OOC: Responded to your respondence!

IC:

"I dunno. Look, it has like a seal. A seal for the vampires?" Kevin scratched his head. "It looks like it's in Latin. When did I leave my brother at home when he knows Latin! Grrr."

Sirius stopped in the middle of loading her Barrett. She began piecing things together. Her fingers danced on the grip of her pistol. She walked right up to Kevin. She spoke low enough that the others couldn't hear her.

"You're one of them aren't you? Either you were made here or you were infected later, either way, someone here knew about you, and they wanted you dead."

She looked away, checking the room again.

"Look, I don't care, but if they," she indicated the rest of the team, "find out from someone other than you, then they're gonna kill you."

She finished loading the Barrett.

"I'll back you up, but you'd better tell them now."

Sirius nodded to him, her fingers danced on the pistol, she wasn't 100% sure he could be trusted, but he hadn't given her much reason to worry, but prudence was still important.

Kevin looked at her. "Listen. You're right. All right?" He quickly fumbled in his backpack and took out a jar of red liquid. "This is my life." He took a sip and put it back.

"One day, I was on the streets. My parents just died-or so I thought. Then, after THEY expanded to other nations. THEY found me. So yes, you're right. I am a later 'model', as some of them put it.

But they did this against my will. I still resent it. I can't do anything normal anymore. I am with you in killing the vampires. It's the only thing I can do now. The TBCS is my life. I want vengeance." Kevin paused.

"But... there's a problem that the squad will face. Our goal is the eradication of the vampire race... no?" He paused again, then looked at himself. The scars she didn't see on his hands. His heart-useless. His stomach-useless. All his organs-useless. His feet-able to travel at speeds of a car. His hands-able to kill anyone in the room before they realized it. He was a monster.

"If that's our goal... that means one Kevin da Vincho... will have to die." Silence. "I'm sorry to force this on to the squad. But I feel I have to confront it, and telling you is a good start." He felt some need to explain, even though Sirius might not even care. He was glad she didn't really care. But he hadn't wanted to spill the beans-not yet. But Kevin had no choice.

"Do I have to talk right now?"

"If you have to wait, then I can't blame you. Just remember that the longer you take, the more these guys are going to hate what you are, even if they don't hate you."

She gave him an understanding look. She'd been the outsider for over a decade, she'd been filled with anger, she still was she just kept it contained, directed it into her work.

"Like I said, I've got your back, we're a team here. I think that, if you want, we can arrange to let you live. Wouldn't be the first time a defector has recieved amnesty for aiding the fight against his own kind, and it won't be the last."

She's pretty understanding... "Well.. for my sake, obviously, I hope so."

To everyone at large: "Can anyone make sense of these files? Sirius and I have no idea." There was bound to be a bunch of nuggets about Kevin da Vincho, vampire hunter/vampire himself. It seemed a safe way to introduce the topic.

Sirius reached into her pack and pulled a set of noise cancelling headphones.

"These ought to help, military-grade, they attenuate really loud sounds, but still let you hear conversations and background noises jut fine. They'll help reduce the noise from this thing a bit, but I can't guarantee it'll fully protect you."

She handed them to Justin.

"This helmet has the same type integrated in, just higher tech, and a bit better protection."

OOC: Ya can someone fill me in on anything else important that I've missed?

IC: Justin took the headphones and smiled. "Thanks Sirius." he put them on and the world went quieter. "Wow, these things are great."

OOC: Short version: Talking, Sirius downloads entire database (heavilly corrupted data), computers wipe thir memory moments later, Sirius gives Kevin NVGs, she goes in the next room and blows everything in there to pieces.

The rest (the past 2 pages) I'll let you read, so as not to ruin the surprise.

OOC: So what's two pages for you? For me it's 80 posts. I have my settings changed to display 40 posts at a time and the newest is at the top of the first page.

OOC: Well folks, my dad will be here any minute and I'm just taking the time to say goodbye for now. I might be on a little bit this weekend (doubtful), and I couldn't get my cousin's laptop so minimal internet for me at the hotel. See you after my vacation. (of course, some of you read this from the No Rest for Humanity thread! :p

OOC: Hey guys, sorry for not being on much. I'm busy. I won't go into details, but it involves a wedding and a very angry father (me). So, I won't be getting on much for a while.

OOC: 20 posts is my setting.

R.i.p.?

OOC: No, Mereshka's just a putz at updating this. He said last night he kept forgetting.

Oh OK.

OOC: LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (five word post)

OOC: I beat you. Mine's six. :p

R.i.p.?

It's starting to look that way, unless Mereshka can be bothered to come back.

OOC: It may need to be revived again at this rate.

OOC: I am very sorry people. I completly forgot about this. I swear on my dear grandmums grave I'll do better. And as I haven't been quite into this, and am not quite sure what you guys have been up to, I think I'm going to have to have one extra thread, which I hadn't planned on, so I can get the reins back so to speak.

OOC: So is this dead or are you going to get the defibrillator? If it's dead, I know a guy who knows a guy who's cousin's husband can get us cheap gravestones.

I really like this thread, and I want to continue it. Maybe we should redo Mission One-we just seemed like we were at a stalemate.

OOC: Don't worry mates, I've got an idea. It will be rather hastily put together, but I've got it.

OOC: yay!

OOC: I'll be MIA starting this sunday. I get back next Saturday. Just a heads-up.

OOC: Alrighty. And don't worry people, I haven't forgotten about this again. Just need to polish my as yet rather hastily put together plan to keep this going.

OOC: um yay? For some reason your plan is starting to scare me...

OOC: Don't worry, it won't be too bad.

OOC: Tell that to Justin. I think he just made "Boom-boom" upon hearing about your plan if you catch my drift...

OOC: You don't even know my plan!!

OOC: Don't tell me, Tell Justin. That suit is dry clean only. I suppose a more accurate phrase would be tell his dry cleaner then wouldn't it...

OOC: I refuse to tell anybody!! You can go ahead and tell him, if you're so worried about the suit.

OOC: You already told everybody. I can print this out and show them who posted what. :)

OOC: Then it would be you doing the telling, now wouldn't it?

OOC: No, I'd be showing what you told to me. Besides, I could just give them the address to this page, then you'd be telling them in real time.

OOC: No, I'd be telling you in the past.

OOC: I'm confused as hell right now...

OOC: Real time would be at that moment, but I made that post several minutes ago.

OOC: Ah, ok. But it would be real time because it's visible online right that second. Once you start reading this post it's no longer in real time by your definition, but this conversation is in real time, we're just appending to the logs.

OOC: Shenyang is back in the fight.

OOC: Yay! But Mer has yet to continue this.

OOC: I'm back, just went on an extended Coffee break....

OOC: Alright, expect a new thread today. Speaking of which, I'd better finish this one up, huh?

Saya looked around the room rather nervously. "Am I the only one who thinks somethings wrong here? I mean, doesn't this seem a little too easy?" Svekra thought for a second, and nodded. "You are correct, Empress. The blood-suckers usually put up more of a fight." He grinned. "Then again, they could just be afraid of the witch-woman."

OOC: New thread? For this?

IC: "Do we really need to know what the reasoning behind it is?" Justin asked.

Edward nodded. "To damn easy. They wanted us to find something... or have taken what they needed from here."

Saya tapped her chin in thought for a moment, then said. "Could be meant to be a distraction, maybe they're off doing something whilst we sit here and waste our time."

"Disturbing possibility. But what would they be doing?" Patrick thouroughly checked his rifle. "Doesn't matter mister Shogun. More targets, more bullets."

Saya shrugged. "I'm thinking maybe an attack on a town, or maybe a planned kidnapping or some-such."

Saya shrugged. "I'm thinking maybe an attack on a town, or maybe a planned kidnapping or some-such."

"An attack on a town would draw to big of a response, but a planned kidnapping might... oh no..." Edward clenched his fist. "They could go after anyone close to us, just to hurt us before we hurt them..." He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood the instant before it healed. "My fiance..."

Saya nodded. "That is, unfortunately, a defenite possibility. I'm hoping you've got her surrounded by good samurai?" She was just glad Alex was in Shenyang, (Not that she thought they could kidnap him anyways) and her daughter and heir was surrounded by the Empress's own guards.

Saya nodded. "That is, unfortunately, a defenite possibility. I'm hoping you've got her surrounded by good samurai?" She was just glad Alex was in Shenyang, (Not that she thought they could kidnap him anyways) and her daughter and heir was surrounded by the Empress's own guards.

Edward nodded. "Even better, Schatten." He waited a moment. "Oh right... Shadow Ops, one agent. Top of his class."

Saya nodded satisfactorily. "All well and good then. Hopefully he'll be enough, hmm? So, before we start worrying about the future, lets concentrate on the now. Lets sum up everything we found, shall we? Maybe coming here was worth it after all."

Saya nodded satisfactorily. "All well and good then. Hopefully he'll be enough, hmm? So, before we start worrying about the future, lets concentrate on the now. Lets sum up everything we found, shall we? Maybe coming here was worth it after all."

Edward nodded then hooked up a small projector to his PDA. "From what I found, this was a collaboration project between numerous companies, Pharmaceutical, military, what really stands out is the Winchester corporation." He tapped his PDA to enlarge the image. "Not many people know this, but the Winchester Corporation is the public face for Section zero, providing everything from advanced bio-engineering to the latest in military weapons. Any thing involved with the Winchester corporation should be an immediate red flag, also."
He flipped his finger across the display and brought up another piece of data. "This is a payment register, doesn't seem like much, until you look at the security. Over two hundred mercenaries were employed to provide security to this once facility, as well as a signifigant number of heavy weapons, namely flamethrowers, Heavy machine guns, the like. It looks like they were expecting something."

Saya looked rather confused, and tapped her chin in thought. "Hmm...What would they need all that for? The modern soldiers alone would be enough to deter any sort of threat the local Shogun could make. They'd hardly need hevy weaponry for samurai."

Saya looked rather confused, and tapped her chin in thought. "Hmm...What would they need all that for? The modern soldiers alone would be enough to deter any sort of threat the local Shogun could make. They'd hardly need hevy weaponry for samurai."

"I don't think it was samurai... I think it was something worse. In part of the facility there was indication of heavy fighting. And not just the several seconds long fire fight, I'm talking a prolonged firefight. Something happened, something that could overwhelm even them."

Saya thought furiously for several minutes, racking her brain, but finally sighed. "I truly don't know what it could be. I suppose that someone in one of the modern countries who helped could have caught wind of what was going on here."

Saya thought furiously for several minutes, racking her brain, but finally sighed. "I truly don't know what it could be. I suppose that someone in one of the modern countries who helped could have caught wind of what was going on here."

"If it was the Union, then they went deep black ops, if it was other countries good for them. But all the corpses I've seen were either vamps or mercs... maybe this place was where whatever this is was created."

Saya nodded. "I suppose there could have been something the vampires wanted in here that they weren't supposed to have. The question is htough, what?"

Edward flipped through his PDA and shrugged. "Nothing on the shipment lists but lab equipment and heavy machinery, although what they might've been after could have been assembled or created on sight... and kept in some secure data storage. All I have is what I managed to hack out of the system, everything else is to corrupted or damaged to use."

She laughed. "And I'm sure the people who actually knew how to use computers wouldn't be so foolish as to leave anything we could actually use." She looked around the room once more, and sighed. "Well, we'd best get going. I don't see any use in waiting around here."

She laughed. "And I'm sure the people who actually knew how to use computers wouldn't be so foolish as to leave anything we could actually use." She looked around the room once more, and sighed. "Well, we'd best get going. I don't see any use in waiting around here."

Patrick, Edward and Jefferson all nodded at the same time. "I suppose I should give Frank a ring, probably bored out of his mind somehwere."

Svekra gave a long-suffering sigh. "Yes, call the witch man and his demon. Although what ever happened to just walking where you need to go?"

Svekra gave a long-suffering sigh. "Yes, call the witch man and his demon. Although what ever happened to just walking where you need to go?"

Jefferson laughed. "Considering where we need to be would take us a couple days to reach on foot... flying is the easiest way to get there."

Edward returned from his brief radio chat with Frank. "Well, he's got an odd request, he wants a souvineer."

Svekra shrugged, bent down to one of the corpses, and decapitated it. He stood up holding the head by its hair. "I assume this is what the whitch-man wants? Although I shudder to think what he will do with it."

Svekra shrugged, bent down to one of the corpses, and decapitated it. He stood up holding the head by its hair. "I assume this is what the whitch-man wants? Although I shudder to think what he will do with it."


"Uh... not quite." Edward wandered over to a pile of mercs and cut the unit patch off of one of the uniforms. "I think he meant something like this, twenty second dragoons... huh."

Svekra shrugged, and dropped the head, muttering about inconsistinces with witch behavior.

A gust of wind whipped through the lobby, followed by the crashing of the main doors. "Oy, took you guys that long to deal with a bunch of vamps?" Frank strode in shaking his head. "Would've thought it would be like a QCS mission, nice, quick, bloody. You get my souvineer?" Edward handed him the Unit patch, much to Frank's delight. "Aye, a fine souvineer. Thank'ee much."

Svekra sighed, and said, "You are not a normal witch-man, you know this, correct? What kind of witch-man turns down a head?" Saya laughed. "Don't mind him." She told Patrick. "Hes just being superstitious, and rather belligerent."

Patrick nodded. "So I can tell."
Frank laughed at Sverka. "Y'know, when we get back to base, your drinks are on me"

Svekra grinned. "This is a good thing. I think I will wait a while before purifying your soul, witch-man."

Frank laughed. "Like I need purification." He jerked his thumb to the Osprey. "All right kiddies, pile in, one express flight back to the Imperial Palace."

Svekra sighed, and with the air of one marching to his own death, boarded the Osprey, followed by Saya.

"Okay, everyone aboard, lets go!" The Osprey's engines tilted upwards, lifting the VTOL through a canopy of trees. "Whoa, didn't see that, all right, thirty minute ETA, bags of peanuts are under your seats. Seriously." The Osprey's engines tilted forward, and the VTOL roared towards the palace.





OOC: I'm assuming that everyone got on board to.

Svekra was curious, and looked under his seat, pulling out the bag. He looked it over, and asked curiously, "So, this is a peanut. I must say, it does not look at all edible."

Edward was already munching away at his bad. "Its in the bag, here." He handed him his combat knife. "Use this to open it, then crack the shells on the nut and eats what's inside."

Svekra took the knife, opened the bag, and took out one of the peanuts. He looked it over suspiciously before cracking the shell, and warily popped one of the peanuts in his mouth. He chewed, swallowed, and without a word handed the bag to Edward. Saya laughed. She herself was happily eating the peanuts, which she hadn't had in a long time.

Edward laughed. "Don't like peanuts? Hm, more for me then." Frank's laughter drifted back from the pilots seat. "He didn't like the peanuts? For shame, for shame, I wonder if he likes bourbon."

Svekra shrugged. "I prefer my things sweet and prefferably juicy. But burboun is like sake, yes?"

Edward laughed. "Sweet and dry, that's bourbon for ya. I've got a taste for the stuff myself."

Svekra grinned. "I think that any self-respecting warrior would enjoy it, or that which is like it."

"You know it. I think I might have a flask of the stuff, er, somewhere..." He checked ever single pocket, only to have Jefferson hand him a flask. Edward excepted it with an odd look. "What, do you have dozens of dozens of these things in that jacket of yours?" Jefferson laughed. "I always keep the stuff handy, great for treating wounds."

Svekra smiled. "You people are not bad for witch-men. Although I still mistrust this flying demon."

"Witch men, ha!" Jefferson laughed. 'If we were witch men we would just have to snap our fingers and we'd rule the world. Not that the Union has an interest in it, although that Imperialist party that's starting to crop up wants to."

Svekra cocked his head. "You have strange ideas. Witch men are not all-powerful. They are balanced by faith." He grinned. "That is why I fear neither you nor the demon woman."

"Faith, huh, I prefer duty to faith." Jefferson went silent and started to clean his rifle.

Svekra shrugged. "I consider them one and the same. I have faith in my Empress, and it is my duty to protect her." Saya simply rolled her eyes.

"Well, I've got one thing about faith, it goes good with a .45" Jefferson clicked the last piece of his rifle back into place. "So, what's your story? What do you do for a living, eh?"

Svekra shrugged. "Not much to tell truly. I am twenty-five years old, very young for a Shogun. I am leader of the Wolf Clan, as well as...whats the word...captain? Yes, captain of the Empress's Guard. In short, I am samurai. My mother has been trying to get me into a marriage for several years now, but I like to think I am young as of yet, and may still have fun before being drawn into marriage with a noble-woman I've never even met."

Jefferson chuckled. "Nice plan. As for me, well, the less you know, the less they can drag out of you if they can't find me. To give the basics, I'm on the run from the United States after hijacking the nuclear weapons system to prevent a launch that would've caused World War three, so they aren't to happy about that. The Union, they were kind enough to give me amnesty, but I'm on Interpols' most wanted list. Oh, and lets just say I came from a background similar to your own, that's how I got access to the football."
Frank leaned back from the pilots seat. "What is this, story time? All right kids, share your stories, just let me know when its my turn."

Svekra looked confused. "Football? I thought we were talking about you demon weapons. Is football not something you play?"

Jefferson grinned. "The football, its the key to the United State's nuclear arsenal. Only the president can authorize a launch with the football."

Svekra looked completely lost. "Are you telling me that they play a sport to determine whether to unleash a demon weapon? Does your President play, or does he just judge it?"

Jefferson laughed. "No, its the codename for a brief case. We ever want to play a game with politicians, we give them a fully loaded revolver and tell them to play Russian roulette."

Svekra looked even more confounded if anything, and opened his mouth to ask another uestion, but Saya stopped him. "Just leave it Svekra, you'll just get more confused." She turned to Jefferson. "And shame on you, talking to poor Svekra about things he doesn't know about."

Jefferson chuckled. "I was having fun, what can I say? Besides, I did stop world war three."
Patrick shook his head. "I've heard him tell that story every time... never changes and gets old quick."

Saya laughed. "Yes, and you are of course to be commended for that, but still, thats no excuse for you confuse my people. So, what is your story Patrick, for those here who don't already know?"

Patrick chuckled. "Well, whats to say? Late thirties, came from a well-to-do family. Ended up joining the Union marines to piss of my parents, and let me tell you, it worked. Oh yeah, and I've saved Edward's ass more times then I can count." Edward elbowed him. "And I've saved you even more." Patrick through his hands in the air in mock defeat. "Oh yeah, and about ten years ago I joined this little squad called the QCS, we had loads of fun blasting zed heads clean off their shoulders."

Saya smiled. "Good times, good times. Hmm...its been a while since I've used a sniper rifle..."

Patrick chuckled. "I bet it has, I bet it has. Been a while since I used a sniper to, used to be in the Arkheim knights, forgot to mention that. They're the elite of the elite in the Union, no one knows their names, and even I don't know how many their actually are, though I think its about twenty."

Saya smiled. "Seems like a rather big part of your life to forget mentioning, doesn't it Crispy?"