13org

The Envenomed: Military Science Fiction Deniable Operations

"Yes, yes. I said I would only do so in case of an emergency, but I may have worried myself too much. You're definitely fine if you can snap at me like that." Alice said with a chuckle.

"Just don't overexert yourself, lest the stitches open again." Alice said as she grabbed her rifle, getting ready to return to battle again.

While her the shrapnel from the explosion was still lodged in her back, as long as she didn't move herself too quickly, she wouldn't feel much pain, thanks to the painkiller she took a while back. The fact that there was no internal injuries also helped her a lot to keep moving.

"Understood, Kleo is out of immediate danger. She'll support us from inside Echo. I'm returning to the battlefield." Alice said by the radio, just as Echo started moving himself, separating into it's Endoform.

At the same time, just as Kleo asked for a gun, the scavenged weaponry from the power trooper was dumped into the cargo hold together with them. It would definitely come in handy, considering the heavy walker they had to deal with.

"Alice. Please call me Alice." she said towards Kleo as she grabbed one of the scavenged weapons and handed to her.

"Remember, try doing more than you can handle right now. Stay inside Echo's cargo hold and use one of the weapons we got from the power trooper. I'm going back out." Alice replied to Kleo, nodding reassuringly towards her before getting out of Echo's cargo hold.

As Alice got out from Echo's cargo hold, the hot air hit her face as a grim reminder that the situation was getting much worse. The main culprit, the heavy walker, was still laying out rounds after rounds of heavy fire. While using Echo's main body as a cover would be a good option, Alice wasn't sure if the heavy walker's auto cannon was enough to pierce through Echo's hull or not and leaving that to be found out by surprise was a terrible choice. Besides, if they wanted to get out of that situation without any losses, they couldn't have Echo suffer heavy damages, considering it was an integral and central part of their plans and their overall fighting force.

"Do we have any information about weak spots on it's armor, joints or anything? My rifle excels in armor penetration but it's impact and destructive power aren't nearly as good." Alice said, peeking from behind Echo's main body and using her rifle's scope to take a closer look at the heavy walker.

Covered by heavy plates of armor, the heavy walker looked just as threatening as it was dangerous. Without any knowledge of it's internal workings and other vital information such as the exact thickness of it's armor and where it was less armored, Alice knew that shooting would only waste her ammo and attract the attention of the heavy walker. In the other hand, waiting seemed to be a terrible idea as well, as the heat coming out from it's thrusters meant that it was but a matter of time until it was able to use them again. The many weapons it seemed to have, each one with a different sensor, also meant that it probably had enough ammo to keep them pinned for a long time... Should it choose to do so instead of just rushing them head on by making use of it's armor and overwhelming firepower.

While the assault from Echo, Ilshar and Salvator seemed to be more effective than Alice had thought, being able to successfully take out some of it's sensors and making a noticeable dent on it's armor, the moment it's thrusters began charging, Alice knew that the heavy walker would most likely try to use it's size, weight and armor in a more aggressive manner. Something which would likely end really badly for them. The moment it's thrusters began heating and charging up, Alice lined up a shot, aiming at the leg mounted wheels that where being deployed. With a couple of shots in quick succession, Alice aimed to destroy as many wheels she could from just one side, trying as best she could to match the moment the heavy walker started it's charge. Hopefully, the destroyed wheels would be enough to send the walker to the ground the moment it's thrusters activated.

"Its thrusters are charging up! Aiming at it's wheels, stay clear from nearby it!" Alice said through the comms, just as she pressed the trigger.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

There was little to no time for the first archer, a female glen, to react to Nellara's attack. Cloaked by the wall of fire made by J'eon's fireball, the very impact as Nellara's claws plunged into the female Glen's throat was enough to make her lose balance, forcing her to drop their bow in surprise as Nellara. For a brief moment, her hands went towards Nellara's arm, trying to free herself, gasping for air in a final, desperate attempt to save her own life. Unfortunately, the final efforts of the archer were short lived as Nellara immediately plunged her other hand on the archer's side, her claws sliding between the archer's ribs and piercing her heart.

From the moment the first archer's body went limp, Nellara's soldiers came soon after, their spear and blades breaking the fire wall, skewering and ripping those who were unfortunate enough to be caught by surprise. Together with them, surprisingly enough, Nellara saw Seeker Kareet.

"It seems seekers are quite a bit tougher than I had initially thought they were. Good to see you well and in combat, Seeker Kareet." Nellara said with a satisfied expression and a nod as she dashed past her.

With the first line of archers being quickly decimated by Nellara's soldiers, who charged together with Kareet, the element of surprise was soon gone and after the initial shock, the remaining enemies finally regained their composure and started to react. Or at least they would, until a number of fireballs fell in an arch, behind the remaining enemies, trapping them together with Nellara's soldiers.

Just as Nellara was about to go for the next one, a sudden wind opened the fire wall that was trapping the remaining enemies. The very second Nellara saw that happening, she immediately started seeking for the mage responsible for it through the opening in the wall of fire. It didn't take long until she spotted a suspicious figure. An elder Glen, draped in tattered clothes.

"We have an enemy mage! Capture at least one of the archers alive!" Nellara shouted as she immediately began dashing towards the mage, ignoring the other enemies that were running away from her forces. At the same time she dashed towards the mage, Nellara grabbed the pouch she used to store the metal spheres and the iron sand, immediately throwing them up as both the spheres and the iron sand began swirling around her as she ran with arcs of electricity crackling between them, both to block projectiles or attacks the remaining enemies might throw at her and using one of them as a projectile to hit the mage.

The Hunt, A Modern Fantasy Smorgasbord RP

^{Interactions: Amanda @Kumbaris, Micheal Crane @BigPapaBelial, Xaviron @Martian, Morgana @King Cosmos}

---

While Faye was still feeling a bit bad and guilty about the outcome of the mission, Amanda's words were still very comforting to her, helping to at least take some of the guilt from Faye's shoulders.

"I'm glad to see you are fine... Although... It might still take me a while to get used to seeing such procedure being performed..." Faye said with a nervous smile to Amanda. Even after hearing Amanda's own confirmation that she was fine and didn't feel pain while her parts were being changed, it was still a rather disturbing procedure to watch. At least for Faye.

"Still... Thank you for your words. I just felt I should have done more... I froze when that creature was about to hit me... Even though I could have done something and It caused you to be... damaged." Faye said, searching for the proper words to say.

"I-I will. Thank you, Amanda." Faye replied as Amanda told her to rest, with a warm smile before going to her room to get some well deserved rest.

---

Taking the rest of the day to rest and almost the entire flight back to Frankfurt, which Faye mostly slept through, seemed to have done wonders both to her mood and her body. By the end of the flight, Faye had returned to her usual, bubbly and cheerful self.

"Hi~! It took us a bit but we're finally back! You won't believe what we had to go through! It was honestly such a-" Faye said, waving towards Madeleine, Xaviron and Morgana with a smile before she excitedly began talking about the stuff they went through on their mission, just before Amanda spoke up.

"Sorry~ Please continue." Faye said with a playful expression as Amanda asked for silence. sitting down and paying attention to Amanda's words.

When Amanda gave the news that the Frankfurt office was calling the staff to both process and organize their findings, Faye was honestly surprised. She honestly didn't expect them to be so effective. The identity and location of the infamous 'Mr. X' was still unknown, although it would likely not remain so for too long. If they were lucky, the information they had already gathered would most likely, after it was properly organized by the office, start giving them some good leads to finally shed tome light on that particular mystery.

Amanda's reminder of how widespread the use of eldritch magic was by My. X and it's associates was a disturbing reminder to Faye of what she would still have to go through. While definitely a threat that should be dealt with, it was still very uncomfortable for Faye to be near focuses of Eldritch magic.

"The idea of this Mr. X being a deity doesn't sound that impossible now... I mean... This guy has both knowledge about some rather obscure magical knowledge and enough connections to gather weapons and resources from lots of places, doesn't it?" Faye said, thinking about Amanda's words.

"Somehow... They seem to have a hand on almost everything we end up stumbling in. Both weapons, magic and even seemed to have a mole inside the Minsk office... Even for powerful people, having this degree of magic knowledge and such widespread influence would be considerably hard... But for a deity... it might not be THAT impossible." Faye said. It was just a theory, of course but it was one Faye did think had quite the possibility of being true.

"If we consider this Mr. X really being a Deity, it would help us a lot to narrow down the suspects. We would just need to know who among the known deities would have reasons and knowledge to mess with Eldritch magic..." Faye said, looking to the rest of the team, wanting to hear their thoughts about her theory.

The Envenomed: Military Science Fiction Deniable Operations

"Unfortunately, we don't have many options at the moment." Alice replied as she heard Kleo grumbling as she handed her a bag with medical supplies.

Soon after, with the warning of the arrival of more enemy units, Echo approached them, suggesting for Alice to load Kleo into the unit carrier section of his warform and continue the treatment inside.

"Will do, thank you, Echo." Alice said, quickly getting up, putting the bag of medical supplies inside Echo and preparing to carry Kleo.

"I would like to avoid injecting any more stims... But considering extraction is not an option at the moment..." Alice said to Ilshar with a heavy sigh as she began carrying Kleo to the back of the warform, albeit with a bit of difficulty.

"We will see. Depending on how the treatment goes, I might be forced to use more stims." She said, replying to Ilshar just as she finished loading Kleo and getting herself into Echo's back.

"We're good, Echo. Please take care of us, for the time being." Alice said as she turned to Kleo in order to begin the treatment.

She knew things were about to get real hot outside once again, but considering Kleo's state, she would have to trust that her teammates would be able to deal with it. At least until Kleo was properly treated and out of immediate danger, then she might be able to go out and help. Her wound were minor and superficial when compared to Kleo's, after all...

"As I said previously, I would like to avoid using any more stims... But tell me if the pain is truly unbearable and I'll try to inject just a little bit more." Alice said as she opened the medical bag and began taking off the old, improvised bandage in order to properly treat Kleo's wounds. Including trying to take off any fragments that might be lodged inside, with Kleo's help, of course and closing the wound afterwards.

The Envenomed: Military Science Fiction Deniable Operations

Having the team's confirmation that they had control of the artillery piece was definitely a good thing. In the other hand... Kleo's instructions were... strange at best. Regardless, she was the one with proper medical knowledge... So Alice was sure she had a reason for mixing rum with the IV. Still, with no proper resources, the best Alice could do for now was to staunch any bleeding and bandage Kleo as best as she could. At least until they were extracted or somehow found some medical supplies.

"Well... I don't know how to say this but... Cigarettes and rum might be easier to find right now than proper medical supplies. Regardless, we still need to staunch the bleeding and bandage you." Alice said, before she stood up, went to one of the tents scattered through the enemy encampment and quickly ripped a strip of the material they were made of, to use as an improvised bandage.

"I don't really want to give you any more painkillers or adrenaline unless it's absolutely necessary, but I still have a few of them remaining if we fail to find medical supplies in time." Alice said as she bandaged Kleo.

"Hold your breath for a second Kleo, this might hurt a bit." She said as she got ready to dress her wounds.

It definitely wasn't pleasant for Kleo, due both to her wounds and the fact that Alice had to bandage her quite tightly in order to staunch the bleeding, but still, Alice tried her best to not cause more pain to Kleo than it was necessary.

It was at that moment that Ilshar approached them, asking if everything was under control. While the answer to that first question wasn't exactly a positive one, receiving the news that they would soon be extracted was definitely something that Alice was looking forward to.

"No medical supplies. We are doing the best I can with improvised bandages but we need more... IV bags, O positive blood and... well... Rum and cigarettes, right, Kleo?" Alice said, confirming her previous instructions.

"My wounds aren't grave. It seems the shrapnel didn't hit any organs or anything vital. Pain is manageable as well due to the stimulants I took. As I said before, I want to avoid giving any more stims to Kleo but if we really need it, I can give her another dose to buy us time until we get extracted... or somehow find proper medical supplies." Alice finished, looking to Ilshar after she was done bandaging Kleo.

As if marking the success of their mission, the blinding white-blue light and the noises of the cannon firing punctuated Alice's conversation with Kleo and Ilshar. The way the light illuminated the sky would be beautiful... If Alice didn't know exactly what it was and the reason for it's construction and almost as if only to confirm that thought, the sound of a big explosion, marking the target being successfully hit came soon after.

Still, the relief and the celebration of victory were short lived, as they soon received a very concerning message. Something armored and very fast, was approaching their position.

Worried, especially as she heard Salvator's orders through the comms, Alice quickly looked to Ilshar with a worried expression before talking through comms herself. She was well aware that hoping the armored forces weren't hostile and taking a diplomatic approach was a naive and foolish thing to do but still, they had wounded members and entering into another conflict right now was the last thing they needed.

"Salvator, Kleo needs proper medical supplies. The best we can do with what we have at hand is improvised bandages to staunch the bleeding. We need to ask for extraction... Or at least to be air-dropped some proper medical supplies." Alice reported, hoping the new ongoing situation with the unknown armored unit wouldn't devolve into a lengthy conflict.

The Five Senses - Second Arc (Accepting New Players!)

Karina Frost

Upon hearing Tayla's reply as she pointed towards where Sil went, Karina was almost getting ready to leave, when she heard a strange voice coming from the center of the guest room. Almost at the same time as Tayla, Karina immediately drew her rapier, turning around to face the stranger, surprised by not having noticed them there earlier.

Much to her surprise, the stranger was no one other than one of the servants whom they had seen in the mansion. In fact, she was the very first servant who greeted them as they arrived. While Karina was unsure if she should trust the servant or not, the information she brought them were definitely good ones. Although the reason for her doing so... If she was on the side of whoever was responsible for the trap they fell into or not was something that remained to be seen.

"Good news as those might be, is there a particular reason why we should trust you?" Karina asked, her sharp eyes watching every movement the servant made.

"I hope you understand how bad this situation looks. For us, everything, even being invited to this mansion sounds like a huge trap." Karina completed, her sharp eyes still watching the servant.

The moment she mentioned a word Karina know very well... and hated, Karina opened her eyes wide, surprised...

'Pactmakers'...

"Where have you heard this damn word...?" Karina asked in a very hostile tone.

The servant's next words were sharp ones. Words that would normally made Karina kill her on the very spot if they were on any other situation. But she needed information. Not only about the whole 'pact' thing, but about the entire situation they were in and exactly who were the groups they, as 'pactmakers' were against.

Karina was in silence as the servant talked, but she noticed Tayla's stare and Tayla would definitely notice how Karina's hand was tightening around her rapier.

Whether it was just by pure luck or just part of the mysterious servant's plans, they were offered help to get out of that situation. Not much information or even time for questions was given them as the servant immediately told them to follow them in order to take off the bracelets and telling them how her 'followers' were distracting the ambushers.

"As much as i hate this entire situation... We have no choice but to follow her." Karina said in a low tone to Tayla as she began following the woman. With that said, Karina still didn't sheathe her rapier and had it ready on her hand as she did so.

"I am sure you do not expect us to stay silent. I am quite aware you would prefer not to answer any questions, but whatever was your reason to help us, you used your chips on this bet and it would be on your best interest to get something for them..." Karina said with a serious tone.

"There are many questions I need to make... But just to start... Who exactly are you, how do you know about the pact and most importantly... You mentioned 'shattering' it..." Karina said, still paying attention to every reaction the mysterious woman might have.

"Most of us weren't exactly willing volunteers to be pactmakers... Some of us were... less than willing..." She completed.

It was a bet. Karina knew that well, but it was a bet worth taking. The way the servant spoke made it look as if she wasn't exactly on the pactmakers side nor on... whatever 'other' side there was and instead, was just on her own side. Such... neutrality was, right now, the closest thing of being trustworthy Karina could have from anyone that knew about the pact and what was happening.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

Fortunately, despite the might of the human weapons, Seeker Kareet's suggestions about rapidly heating and cooling the creature's tough hide were working perfectly well. Not only it became clear the remaining creature had became quite a bit sluggish and wasn't rampaging as fiercely as it was before, but it's hide had also become easier to pierce, even for their conventional weapons. Regardless, it's sheer size and mass still proved to be a menace, despite it's weakened state.

It didn't take long, especially with how weakened it had become for Vigdis and the humans to finish the remaining beast, finally ending such threat. With that said, the combat wasn't over yet and the loss of their beasts didn't seem to affect the enemy archers, which continued their attack. One of them in particular, shot an arrow with a non-magnetic arrowhead, passing through the barrier and immediately striking Seeker Kareet, percing her straight through the chest.

Nellara only noticed what had happened after the barrier fell down, due to her being focusing her attention on the enemies. The moment she did though, Nellara didn't hesitate for one second as she once again began ordering her soldiers.

"SOMEONE, IMMEDIATELY TAKE SEEKER KAREET TO THE LIFE MAGE!" Nellara shouted.

"Half of you, tight defensive formation around the humans and the wounded, focus on blocking the arrows..." Nellara ordered as she gave a step forwards towards the direction the enemy archers were, quickly returning her metal spheres to the pouch she kept on her belt and releasing the iron dust, using it to deflect an arrow that came directly towards her face.

"The rest of you... Follow my lead. Leave but a single one of them alive for interrogation... As for the rest, give them no quarter." Nellara finished as she assumed a low stance, before dashing towards the archers.

Dazed and shaken due to J'eon's fireball, the archers had little time to react to Nellara approaching and even should they shoot arrows at her, they would find their projectiles either deflected by the iron sand around Nellara or effortlessly dodged by her agile movements. Passing right through the wall of fire formed by J'eon's fireball, pouncing towards the first archer, aiming to rip his throat with her claws, while using it's body as a shield, should the other archers try to fire at her while she was doing so.

The Hunt, A Modern Fantasy Smorgasbord RP

^{Interactions: Amanda, Baba Yaga @Kumbaris, Micheal Crane @BigPapaBelial, Scarlet [@AWACS]}

---

Already inside the car, Faye could feel her nerves finally calming down after the fight. The adrenaline that kept her up even as the creature was about to strike her was finally disappearing, leaving only the worry she felt about her wounded teammates and the mental and physical exhaustion due to the entire fight.

"Still a bit shaken but that's all. Nowhere as bad as you guys..." Faye said, replying to Micheal as he asked if she and Scarlet were okay.

Still, despite Faye being worried, in the end her exhaustion ended up winning and she fell asleep for the most part of the trip back to the office, only waking up a few moments before arrival, noticing the car slowing down and soon after stopping.

"Huh? Wha-... Oh... Sorry about this... I just couldn't keep myself awake as the car started moving." Faye said, giving a good look at the remaining members just to be sure they were out of immediate danger.

Already on the office, Faye insisted to escort the rest of the team to the infirmary for a good check-up any any medical care they might need. Truth be told, it was not just because they were her teammates, but in part, Faye also felt rather guilty, for being the only one relatively unscathed after that fight.

With that said, there was one member of the team that didn't exactly need to go to the infirmary. Faye arrived just as the care package was delivered to Amanda. Not knowing if she should interrupt or not, Faye just stood still, watching as Amanda got nearby the care package, with the arms coming out of it soon beginning to 'disassemble' her and replace the damaged parts.

Needless to say, it wasn't exactly a comfortable thing to watch. Even though Faye knew Amanda was an android, which was honestly quite obvious, after spending some time near Amanda and getting used to her, she tended to forget about certain aspects of being a robot.

With a very shocked and concerned expression, Faye watched as both arms and legs were taken out from Amanda and soon opened Amanda's torso in order to repair the damaged internal parts.

"H-hey Amanda, sorry to stare... I came to check on you after taking the rest to the infirmary but when I got here, I didn't know if I should interrupt the repair process or not so I just..." Faye said, trying to explain herself.

"It's a bit shocking to watch. I kinda end up forgetting you are an android after spending some time with the group." Faye said with an awkward expression.

"I am glad you are okay though." She said after a moment of silence, with a genuine smile.

The Envenomed: Military Science Fiction Deniable Operations

Receiving both Ilshar and Salvator's reply through the comms did made Alice quite relieved, especially on how they at least sounded like they had everything under control. Echo's assistance would definitely be essential for the success of the mission, especially now that both Kleo and Alice couldn't help much. The good news were that the stims she had injected on herself were kicking in full force. The pain she felt a while ago had almost completely faded, even if just temporarily.

"Thank you. Starting the first-aid procedures for Kleo!" Alice said, replying and reporting to Salvator and Ilshar by the comms.

Wasting no time, Alice carried Kleo away from the front-line where Ilshar, Salvator and Echo were while trying her best to support her weight without moving her body too much, due to the possibility of her having internal wounds.

"Ilshar, Echo and Salvator are covering us. I got you, Kleo." Alice said, trying to comfort Kleo a bit as she took her somewhere safe.

"My wounds aren't nearly as grave as yours. The stims will be more than enough to keep me going for now. How are you feeling? Do you have any trouble breathing?" Alice said, gently and delicately lowering Kleo on the ground, trying her best to lay her down somewhere flat.

Just as Alice said that, the loud message sent to them by the allied ZRF forces interrupted them, making Alice immediately take her hands to her ears, startled. Regardless of how uncomfortable the contact was, the message they received was an incredibly good one. The allied ZRF forces were finally making their move.

"Even if they're loud, it's good they finally decided to make their move." Alice said to herself, a bit annoyed by the sudden loud voice right in her ear.

"Still, while I am a biologist, I specialize in void and abyssal creatures... You will have to guide me on how to deal with your broken ribs and maybe any internal wounds that you might have, Kleo. Can I count on you?" Alice continued, focusing on continuing to speak to Kleo, hopefully to distract her from the pain, even if a little bit.

"Trust me, Kleo, I got you. My hands are stable enough to do anything a medic can, with the right guidance, of course." She said, trying to sound as calm and soothing as possible despite the adrenaline running through her veins. Panic, both for her and for Kleo was the last thing they needed.

With luck, Kleo would be at least good enough to stay on the rear together with Alice in a support position, but the possibility of her needing an immediate extraction, should her injuries be grave wasn't zero.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

Nellara was already expecting her electricity to not have enough effect to stop or to hinder the creatures' charge due to their resistance to magic, but she wasn't expecting them to be completely ineffective. As the creatures continued to charge, Nellara saw herself forced to dive away to not be trampled by them. Most of her soldiers, after the hasty warning she gave by following Seeker Kareet's warning were able to dodge as well, saving for two unfortunate souls who were completely crushed under the relentless charge and massive weight of the behemoths.

With that said, not everything were bad news. One of the Behemoths, despite being incredibly resistant to magic and almost impossible to pierce with spears, simply fell dead after being shot by the strange weapons wielded by Zeynep and her crew, announced by the loud cracks coming from their guns every time they fired and followed by their cheers as the heavy body of one of the beasts fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Focus on dodging the alive one! Don't try to stop or even attack them!" Nellara shouted, dashing away from the two trampled soldiers as she noticed the beast was focusing it's attention on her.

Truth be told, Nellara had no idea if they could be saved... Or even if they were still alive. Plus, stopping to check them while being chased by a rampaging beast was a bit difficult. Regardless, the least she could do was asking one of the mages to see if they could be saved... Or in the worst case, at least make them presentable for a funeral later...

"Do we have any life mage? Take care of those two!" Nellara said, using her agility to make sharp turns, dodging just as the beast charged towards her, while being careful to stand away from the other soldiers.

"Captain Zeynep, are you and your crew able to fire your weapons once more? I can try to position myself in a way to give you and your crew time to shoot, but I need you to warn me when you are ready!" Nellara shouted as she dashed away from the remaining beast just as it once again charged angrily at her.