LadyAmber

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Collaboration between:

Skye Rosalind Lyons

Samantha Dalton

Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan

Gate to Gate

Samantha was beyond exhausted. She had used autopilot at some points but she had been up over 24 hours at this point. She had been making it through on adrenaline. She had to stay alert enough to defend her family. She had Bob playing music to keep her awake. She had managed to eat some protein bars and drink some water. Her mind had been turning over what was going to happen to Skye. She knew that she was under orders from Oracle to bring Skye in. She didn’t trust that they had Skye’s best interest at heart. She wasn’t sure they would believe her when she told them how she had managed to decide which one was Rose and which one was Skye. She had not worked so hard to save her friend just to allow Oracle to imprison her or worse. Samantha had no choice but to land. She was running on fumes. Her plane was out of fuel and shouldn’t have been in the air for a while now. Tired pilots made mistakes.

The F35 followed the Airbus A400M in for a landing. She followed the directions from the tower and followed the Airbus to a cargo runway off on a quieter side of the airport. She followed the instructions to park the F35 in the hangar at the end of the runway. The Airbus stopped outside the hangar and was left on the runway. Fuel trucks were already moving in. She parked the F-35 and turned it off, powering down the aircraft. She was exhausted but more awake due to the need for action and getting to move around.

The plane skidded down on the tarmac, on the last drags of fuel and finally at last, down to earth. The flight had taken forever, and in the late afternoon, they were here for fuel and some food supplies. It had been a hell of a journey- and as it coasted along, past civilian traffic, the innocuous looking A400 wasn’t exactly making a scene that was unknown for such an airport. JSDF traffic popped in sometimes, and even USAF crews too on training exercises, right in the heart of Tokyo proper. Still, the large prop-driven aircraft pootled along and into a port in the cargo hub area, came to a dead stop. With that, the rear door opened as Vincent called out on the tannoy.

“Alright everyone, rear door is open. Grab some kerosene-fresh air and be back in twenty minutes. We will be setting off for our next part of the journey. Hawk, out.” Vincent called on the tannoy, as Skye, Tahlia, and everyone else got the first glimpse of Japanese concrete, Skye walking out of the back as the ramp hit floor and taking a deep exhale.

Last bit of freedom. Or was it? She was mulling it, thinking it through. Looking around, there was a lot of security. And she did not want to run….yet knew that something Boaro said was right. They wouldn’t want her dead, but right now, whatever was going on, Rose would bank, gamble that Skye would follow orders. She had to do whatever she WASN’T. And that meant…..well, it meant taking a risk like no other. Throwing total anarchy at the wall to make it clear to Rose that she could play her game, and divide attention. Draw it from the team and bring it to her, and her alone. That felt more noble. Fuck, she kicked and hurt herself over the idea this might happen. But before she could think, a Japanese Self-Defence Air Force crew were over, a number of Toyotas with armed troops aboard. This must have been containment, just in case there was any risk aboard. Nothing to worry about, protocol. Though still, it threw a wrench to that. No running away from them on top of airport security.

Skye looked across to the group, as the Toyota Land Cruisers came to a halt, one of the more senior members of the group headed across to Skye, recognizing the redhead from a mile away now her helm was off.

“You must be Lyons-San. I am Captain Ide Takahashi, we are here to help you on your way. I have not been told much about your situation. But is all well?”

Skye heard him ask, his Japanese-accented English deep, as Skye nodded.

“Just about. We have one hurt aboard, the big girl. Few walking wounded. They need at least stabilization till the next step.” Skye said, as the man then yelled back across at a couple of medics. They would at least put Freya right for the time being, as Skye looked to the F35 behind.

“We will help. Do you need anything yourself?” The Captain asked, Skye shaking her head.

To run like hell, maybe, but actually, no way. She had to keep quiet. And know this was something to think over. Boaro was right. Anything she could do, Rose could. But she wanted to use that. Make it pay. A solid technique was to create dilemmas for your enemies, not decisions. Rose wanted to do what she wanted to do. And likely, she had all of it now, thanks to Raven. So Skye had to find some way, she thought to herself, of putting the balance back in. In a way that even Rose couldn’t see. And it occurred to her. There and then, it hit her right. It would be possible to reverse the flow. Turn the situation back on Rose. If she could break into Raven’s HQ, right through the front door….then in the chaos ensuing, Skye could do the same. She would gamble on the fact Skye had empathy, and would stay to her pack, her loyalty, like from all she read. No, she could defy that. Go against the grain, and perhaps, do something that she knew was ultimately highly risky, but highly rewardin. It had saved her life already. It could save plenty more next.

The Scot reminded herself she had to reply to the polite Japanese Air Force Captain too.

“Some water, and rations would be nice. I know you have some of the best MREs in the world.” Skye smiled, trying to hold it together at least, as the Captain nodded, and with that, headed to the truck once again.

Skye looked about, and taking a seat on the concrete, just took a look at the situation.

She was never more grateful for her re-designed suit. She would have never been able to handle being in the air so long without the supports built into her suit. She popped the canopy on the aircraft. She tried to stand up and fell back into the seat. There was only so much room in a fighter cockpit and she had been sitting for a very long time. She stretched and wiggled her toes and massaged her legs. They felt like jello. She tried again and managed to stand. She sucked in a breath as pins and needles surged up and down her legs. She gritted her teeth and managed to climb out of the cockpit. She was standing and working the kinks out when Japanese airport personnel rolled a ladder over so that she could climb down out of the aircraft.

Samantha made her way shakily down the ladder. She almost fell at one point. She caught herself on the handrail. She could see that they had moved closer intent on helping her but there was really no room. She held up a hand and finished the climb down. As her feet hit the concrete, her knees buckled. She remained standing by holding onto the railing. She sucked in a deep breath. She finally stood straight. It hurt but the longer she stood tall and stretched the better she felt. She gave the personnel that hovered a short bow of respect. “Kon'nichiwa, arigatō.” She then began to take shaky steps towards the plane she had passed on her way to the hanger. The thought of seeing her team and family kept her upright. Her body was tired and sore from being in one position so long. You can only stretch so much in the cockpit of a fighter. The more she moved around the better her muscles felt. By the time she made it to the door of the hanger, she was walking fast. She was soon running full out. She had a desperate need to see Skye and Freya. She needed to know they were okay.

She spotted Skye sitting on the concrete behind the plane talking to a Japanese man. She didn't stop moving. She worked on pulling her helmet off. She carried it in her hand and dropped it next to Skye as she slid onto the ground next to her. Her heart raced, wondering if she was alright. “Skye!” Her voice was laden with pain and panic. “Are you okay?” Her face had haggard lines that told how trying the last few days had been on her. Exhaustion was evident.

Skye crawled over, wrapping her arms around Sam, the exhaustion clear on Sam’s face, hurting and feeling like shit. Skye was glad to see her too, knowing the weight of things must have taken one hell of a toll. Running the team and looking after comms were tricky, and it was the first time she’d seen Sam since back at Kaitiaki in the armoury proper. Skye of course was feeling better after the transfusion, but still, not much more than could be expected after that combat.

“Yeah, not too bad. Come here, Sam.” Skye replied with a certain British understatement, sighing as she held on, feeling Sam almost shaking with trepidation and exhaustion herself, holding her in her arms. Skye was hurting too, and a lot was going on.

Looking into Sam’s eyes, the redhead placed an arm onto her armoured shoulder, the burning look still there, even if it was exhausted and jet lagged, holding her close in, knowing she had to calm her, reassure, and ease her down the ladder.

“I’m really proud of you. You did an amazing job….amazing. That could have been the end of us, all of us, but you got us through.” Skye said, glad and happy in a way, yet wanting Sam to know.

“There’s a lot to take in, but breathe. Just look at me. We’re gonna be alright. They’re gonna get us some amazing MREs, the JSDF do the best. And they’re gonna finish fueling, and you are gonna get that well earned sleep on the plane.” Skye said, holding herself together, knowing she had to. This may be the last time she tells her, and Skye isn’t easily giving anything away. Though it’s fairly obvious outside of the Scot’s head. Sam would almost certainly know.

Samantha hugged Skye tightly as tears streamed down her face. “Are you sure you're okay? You have to be okay!” She was muttering randomly as her hands patted over Skye looking for injuries.Samantha’s panic receded some as her brain caught up to her and slowed her emotions down. Samantha hugged her friend and sister of her heart. She had a long time to think as she flew across the world in a plane by herself with periodic updates from Oracle and Vincent.

“I’m fine. Somehow. Breathe.” Skye replied, looking over at her, nodding, knowing she was worried. She had a right to be, but Skye being stubborn wasn’t letting anything go about the neurotoxin, or anything like that. But she saw the worry in Sam’s look.

Sam needed to speak to Skye without any of the team around. This would be her only chance to do so.

“Skye. We need to talk. We don’t have much time. The others can’t know.”

She sat cross legged and released Skye and just held her hand.

“I don’t think you should come with us. I think you need to take the fight to them outside of Raven. We don’t know how many others might be like Rose or how badly infiltrated Oracle is. The one thing we do know is that Artemis needs to be taken down. I trust you. I trust Freya. I am not sure how to trust another leader at Raven. Or to trust Oracle completely. Let me help you.”

She gave Skye a fierce look which turned to pleading.

“I can’t watch them lock you up or worse.” Her voice cracked.

Skye looked back into her burning eyes, seeing the rest of the crew grab food from the back of the Land Cruiser, bringing in crates, Vincent and Javi helping fuel the plane and the ground-team out, and well, Sam and Skye with a moment there and then from a quick skim around. Sam clearly felt it, and Skye felt similar, albeit pushed the emotion deep inside her which wanted to pour.

“Oracle can be trusted. But he won’t trust a single thing I do given the situation. I don’t blame him. It’s operational. Nothing personal.” Skye sighed, shrugging.”

“And…I suppose we could change things, codes and all, but it complicates things too much. Rose believes that she’ll knock the piece off the table in me if she does what she does, because they’ll be terrified and every version of me is a shoot to kill from then on out. Team would be led by someone else, who while I don’t agree with his method, knows what to do. Well, she’d be dead wrong. There is no easy way out here, Sam. I can’t run, they’re on shoot to detain orders for any leaks of any kind. We are guests, but under the strictest secrecy. But there is nowhere to run.” Skye replied, sighing.

“I need answers first. But that won’t come from the position of waiting. I may have a plan. But you would need to trust me. And I need to know you can deal with what’s going to come next. The questions, how I went missing, and why you let it happen. This is up to you, Sam. I really, really do not want to this to you. But this may be the last you see of me if we do this….if it goes wrong. And it may be for nothing.” Skye replied, swallowing a big lump in her throat, giving a last smile, a last, pulling grin back at Sam.

“I don’t ever let anyone down. I’d rather die before I do…..so this may be one of those where I might. So tell me true. Because I need to know you’ll keep going. I can’t do this to you if you can’t hold on, no matter what…..this is up to you.” Skye cooly replied, her look serious again, knowing she needed Sam to say the words. She was the leader, usually brave and brazen, but right here, she knew Sam was at breaking point. It was two roads from here. Skye would accept whatever she said, because Sam was not just the temporary team lead, but well, she was someone she owed a hell of a debt to after all the hell Skye had put her through. Sam had every right to say it was dumb, and they should not risk it. But same time, Skye knew if she accepted it...

Samantha let her frustration show with the current situation. She knew that Skye was right but she didn’t have to like it. She shouldn’t be punished because of something her sister did. That is exactly what was happening though. She understood the operational issues that the situation presented. She also knew that it made Skye one of the few that could be trusted in this situation. Sam let her anger show as well. She was not angry with Skye but Artemis. They kept taking people away from her. She knew if Skye did what she needed to that she might not see or hear from her again. She refused to let Skye go into this thinking she was alone though.

She looked Skye in the eyes with a frustrated sigh. “I understand that you need to do what you need to do and that I might not be able to be privy to your plans. I don’t have to like it though. I will not however have you go off on your own thinking no one cares and that you have no back up.”

She took a deep breath before continuing.

“At least take into consideration some help I can freely offer. If you need a safe place to stay off the grid, go to my grandma in LA. There are no links to be tracked there. At grandma’s look in the saddle bag of my motorcycle, there will be some resources for you to use. You need to do that.”

She looked over at the team who were getting some fresh air by the cargo plane.

“I will stay with Freya, our sister. I want to see her recover and well. I will do as you ask. But only if you promise to go to LA at one point.”

She looked around to make sure they couldn’t be overheard. She hugged Skye and whispered in her ear to make sure they were not overheard. Even if the place was wired for sound it was a tarmac at an airport with planes landing and taking off. It was doubtful a whisper in her ear would be captured.

“I had a mirror drive to the information we were finding at the base. I was using it for my own investigation into what happened to my father. I have been backing up all that data to my mirror drive. The information on how to access that is my saddle bag. Got it?”

She pulled back to look at Skye. She tried to memorize her face. She was worried she would not see her again.

Skye looked on in shock, wanting to be mad if it was normally her, but on this occasion, it may have made some sense. Shit, it was a risk but at the same time, well, that could be useful. There was some reason to get out and get some information, and that was one of them. The kind that couldn’t be recovered by normal channels. Something like that would be cause enough to fuck over Sam, completely- all that had happened would come back to Skye allowing Sam to do this, and right now, Skye didn’t even have half the heart to ask about the defences, or anything else. That had to come under Skye’s leadership. A good manager took account, and ironically, whilst good, that buck laid at Skye’s feet. All of it did. She was not to blame anyone but her own self, and well, the fucks at Artemis.

She gave Skye a wry grin. “I know it was against operation protocols.” She raised one shoulder in a wry shrug. “I learned to always have an ace up my sleeve. To me that has always meant information. I hope you are not angry with me?” She raised an eyebrow as she looked for her response.

“I know someone who can help too. I have my own tricks. Like yours. The ones you used, that knowledge and authorisation, that was mine. Even if you didn’t ask me. Anyone that suggests anything…..well, you have your fall girl. Okay. You’re with me.” Skye smiled back, nodding, noting Sam’s voice coming in with vigor.

“Understood. I know where to go. And I will. I have a few things to do first. But….there is something I could get some help with. They are watching me.” Skye said, looking at the guards, leaning in and whispering into her ear.

“There’s a parachute rig in the back of that Land Cruiser, next to a crate containing water. Can you get them both aboard?” Skye whispered, before leaning back out from the hug, nodding back, a quick glance back into the plane, in Freya’s direction, before back at Sam, keeping things incognito.

“Look after Freya as much as you can. Maybe a mission missed, perhaps for her, with her brother in replacement. Though a word of warning. Her sister, I told you already, do not ever let her corner you alone, Chuck will make her think twice. They are bonded close, like us. She will want to rip me into three because of it, no matter what logic she has, I’m the one who pulls us into the situations we are in…..right or wrong. She’ll find anyone else who is a replacement and want answers, and she has connections in Blue Sword that will make life difficult. Nor the new commander, if I think who it is…..he’s a disciplinarian and someone who will not mess around. And he will be annoyed enough that you let what happens next, happen. They’ll screw you around, but you hold your ground and know it comes back to me. All of the wrongs, and rights. Understood?” Skye said, hoping Sam would know what to do.

Samantha gave Skye’s hand another squeeze before nodding. “I will go help load supplies. I can do it.” She looked over to the Land Rover and nodded again as if setting her plan into motion mentally. She paid attention as Skye gave her some advice about Freya’s sister. She wrinkled her nose at hearing about the commander. She sighed, “I will endure what I must to protect Freya and you from any further fall out. The new commander sounds delightful.” She rolled her eyes snarkily hoping to see Skye smile. “I can handle Freya’s sister. Don’t worry about me.”

Skye felt affirmed, and with it, stood up, giving her a hand up, then heading back towards the plane. This was it. This was all there was. She had her bit to do.

Samantha watched Skye walk away and allowed the sadness she felt to wash over her. She then sighed and picked up her helmet and put it back on. She would need both hands. She left the visor up so that her face could be seen. She joined the people loading supplies onto the plane. She picked up the box of water bottles and set them on top of the crate with parachutes in it. She casually lifted them and carried them into the plane. She set the two crates down in the cargo area and secured them with the netting tie downs attached to the wall. She smiled as no one pointed or called out any alarms.

She then made her way back outside. She sat down next to Freya and grabbed some hot food that was being served out of the back of the vehicle. She chugged a bottle of water and began to eat. She was starving. Protein bars only did so much.

She turned her attention to Freya. “How are you doing Freya?”

---

With the aircraft loaded, the crew were all back aboard, and well, the JSDF commander had sent them on their way. Skye was munching down ramen, the hot and spicy noodles burning the back of her throat, but making her feel. The crew were all in the A400, and well, taxiing quickly.

“Fuck, this is burning.” Skye replied, as the plane jolted and heading down the runway, barreling, the sky back to a dark orange and nearly black following fuel and their hijinks on the ground, as Skye knew the rest of the team were awake. With it, Skye stood once they were up and off the ground and out of the steepest climb, headed on a full loop. She knew the score. The exo was left behind, the only thing she had on were her t-shirt, jeans and well, a stashed set of goggles down by her bra. She knew the run to go on. Fuck, surviving this might be in itself rather risky, but well, it set as loud a signal as it could be that Skye Rosalind Lyons was going rogue, and out of the way.

This was it. Ultimate risk, ultimate reward. She could die, she could be gone for a while, hell, she may never see them again. But she trusted them totally, completely. She had to. Fucking Boaro had just gotten here and was now seeing her do this. Hell, she could even feel like he wanted her to bond, and he had some very good points. Points she wanted to nod and accept, but she knew if all worked out, she’d be back. With a big bollocking, but Skye had to make a change. Do something. And she knew just the man for the job. He was down there in that city. And she had her way down. An express route. Moving to the front, Skye clambered over, Javi flat asleep, in the cabin.

“Vincent. One quick favor. Mind if I get a view of the city, while we leave? Last time for freedom and all.” Skye asked, the aircraft leveled out above Tokyo, currently heading over the bay. This was going to be the most fucking insane dropzone ever. But, it sent the loudest possible message that Skye was gone. If not through the security, it set every single alarm bell off. It would be so loud Rose could not ignore it. Artemis could not ignore it. It would be a point made. And she just had to not get arrested.

For the first time in a long time, Skye was living completely, totally in the moment. A little fear was inside her, but she was ready for this. There was a strange sadness inside of her, but it was like always, the Lyon was roaring inside of her, screaming. Once her mind was set, it was all in now. And she believed Sam. Like the sun in the sky, she’d do as she needed, like Skye herself would.

“What are you meaning, Madame Lyons?” Vincent suspiciously asked, as Skye merely patted him on the shoulder.

“Something for morale. Please?” Skye asked, Vincent sighing, giving into the sultry tone of the Scottish leader, nodding.

“Fine. Only because you ask nicely. I will miss you being a boss-lady, you know.” Vincent replied, licking a smile to Skye, knowing she was wild, but well, she seemed to be perked up again.

“I love you to bits, Vincent. Thanks!” Skye replied, with it running to the back, and with that, walking through. The rear door began to open, and the music began playing in her head.

Looking back across, she saw Sam in particular, and a giggling grin, as Skye bolted across.

Good Feeling- Bakermat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH6yPS7pikE

“We’re getting one last look at Tokyo before we’re out, now how about that!” Skye yelled, knowing that everyone would be yanked awake as the view came into the cabin, and revealed the absolutely glorious, the noise howling as the aircraft slowed a little, for a last little observation.

The sprawling metropolis of Tokyo beckoned below, lights glowing bright and the dusk chorus on the horizon, settling in the hills beyond and the faraway glow of Mt Fuji beyond that, and well, the density down in the city there and there.

Skye was not looking. Instead, she was yanking the rig off the top of the crate Sam had loaded, knowing she’d obliged, and well, flung it over her shoulders and dunked her legs in.

Skye tightened the straps, and checked the holster on her hip, her FNX, the last remaining bit of her tool, with only a spare magazine to boot, and her trusty scout knife in another holster taken from the exo. She looked to Sam, and nodded, flipping her goggles over her eyes, her red hair blowing in the howling wind. The team would be a little mystified as to what was going on, no doubt, and Tahlia stood up, the howling wind blowing all around the cargo bay, watching as the tall (not tallest) redhead stood in front of Sam, calling back one last time.

“You tried to convince me, remember!” Skye yelled to her, and turned and bolted towards that open door. It was the last word she would tell a Raven member for a while, and Tahlia’s jaw dropped, as did Raph’s, and quite a few others. Without context, this seemed ridiculous. It was without a shadow of a doubt, bonkers.

Tahlia could half guess, but still, this by Skye’s standards, was the dumbest shit she’d ever seen her do. She couldn’t run to stop her, or anything. She knew there was no stopping Skye if she was doing this.

And of fucking course it was happening.

Samantha watched as Skye had donned the parachute covertly. No one had really been paying all that much attention to Skye. They had all been awake since they had just taken off. She saw Chuck grab hold of Duke as the cargo bay doors opened and the wind howled through the area. “Long live the Queen!” Chaos cheekily replied and smiled as she watched her fearless leader sow the chaos this time. She already missed her friend but knew she was in a better position by doing this. Queen would always be her commander. She would do her best to respect the new guy as Skye had asked.

Skye ran out to the back, and with no hesitation at all, lept. From 20,000 feet, Skye put her hands in front and saw the sight of Shibuya itself below, far, far below. She put her hands down and dived, the cold utterly stripping anything from her, in freefall and out of the plane, flying through the burnt orange sky towards the middle of a bustling, hustling city.

No team now. For all they knew, Skye was AWOL. Half wouldn’t be shocked. The other half would be trying to recover this mentally, and well, Oracle, everyone, they would be in absolute hazed disbelief that this had happened. Skye was incredibly loyal, attentive, and well, core to this. The person that followed orders, yet her time with the team had taught her…you had to embrace the fact that sometimes, you had to go against the grain. Head down, the redhead plumed through the sky, and into the most unconventional dropzone. The adrenaline kept her warm, and awake, and most of all…alive. She was going to do this, her way, on her terms. She hated being stubborn, but there was no way Artemis was getting away with this, and neither was Rose Lyons. She was coming for her. And going fast. There’s a feeling inside of her that feels beyond odd, but for the first time ever, she felt like even if she wasn’t invincible, the adrenaline hit and she is in flight. Skye can see it all- the skyscrapers in Tokyo proper, the bay and bridges, the highways, Haneda itself, Fuji, and the glowing, glittering lights below. It’s jaw dropping, and unbelievably pounding in her mind, coming fast and thin.

No altimeter meant she had to guess how high she was, her eyes watering and her jaw ice cold, Skye reaching over and throwing the pilot chute and suddenly yanking out the gray parachute with a solid jerk, Skye yanking hard on the rear risers and toggles as she pulled herself into a steep dive, turning past a skyscraper, deep in the most famous square that existed within Tokyo, gigantic LED billboards and neon visible below as she knew she was low, and on course- to avoid power lines, she had to stay right on for the middle. Oh, the entire, fucking world would know. There was not any ignoring where Skye had started up. But where would she end? Well, that part of the story, that she hoped she’d figure out in the next few minutes. She was a good survivor in urban environments, and knew where to go, who to ask, what to say. And for the first time in forever, Skye felt like she was back to herself. She was HER, that spike of adrenaline, that feeling of being alive, it was like nobody else. Rose couldn’t ever take that from her.

Samantha had watched her friend dive out of the back of the plane. She leaned over and hit the button to close the cargo bay doors. She looked over the team. She met Freya’s eyes and wondered how she would take this. She straightened her spine and stood watching the team waiting for the first questions.

Tahlia looked gobsmacked as she held a crate.

“What the fuck?!”

She yelled at anyone, but mostly in Sam’s direction, the shock sinking in, looking across to Sam, the door shutting, the Kiwi still unable to put two and two together.

“I told her figure this out, not jump out of a plane, what the shit?”

Tahlia exasperated, looking genuinely like the GIF of John Travolta looking around confused from Pulp Fiction, puzzled and beyond words.

Samantha felt her resolve firming as she turned to address the team.

“Oracle ordered us to bring Skye in. I know that was truly Skye. I killed Rose the doppelganger clone in her office. Oracle is facing a unique situation with Rose and Artemis. Operational security would have forced them to remove Skye from operations at the minimum. Skye deserved better than that from me. It was my choice. I am asking you to accept that and support it.”

She looked over at them all to see how they were taking the news.

Tahlia looked on in shock, shivering cold, shaking her head and putting her arm on Sam’s shoulder, at least somewhat amenable to an answer like that.

“Well, we’re with you. If you think that’s what we do, boss. For now.” Tahlia replied, knowing it was going to come with consequences- but privately, she agreed. Without saying it, she felt the rest would, even if the confusion was going to stick a while. It would sound weird, but Tahlia knew Skye was long gone. She’d made her choice, and it was sinking in, even if it was the most dramatic way possible. Right now, Sam was team lead. Until that changed.

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

On Board the A400M

Chuck was too tall and big in his suit to take one of the drop down flight chairs in the cargo area. He worked to get out of his suit for now. He wanted to conserve what little charge it had left. He shut it down into sleep mode. The suit had about 25% charge left. He left the suit along the wall of the plane out of the way and strapped down in the cargo area. He sighed knowing the plane didn’t have the right outlets to charge his suit. He kept on the skin tight light weight ballistics suit that was the under armor of his heavy armor. It looked similar to a wetsuit and was black. It stretched over his large frame. He sighed as he realized he would need some clothes. All he had with him was the black boxer briefs he had on under his armor. He settled onto the floor with his long legs stretched out in front of him. Duke came and snuggled into his side and laid his head in his lap. He petted the canine and checked him over well.

They had been in the air for about 30 minutes before his adrenaline finally crashed leaving him feeling exhausted. He had watched as Sophie moved from Skye to Freya working to stabilize and help other members of the squad. Chuck did his best to keep the panic and rage he was feeling under control. He felt like there should have been more he could have done. What was wrong with him? How he had almost lost two teams now? He was comforted by the knowledge that even though they had injured, the team had made it out. Guilt overwhelmed him as he thought about all the support personnel who didn’t make it out. The ones who had given everything so that they could escape. He raised his knees and bowed his head wrapping his arms around his legs. He hid his face in his knees as tried to honor those that had fallen. Was their sacrifice worth it? Was he worth it? He didn’t think he was but he knew they did. All he could do was move forward and honor their sacrifice. It was never easy though.

Duke whined and nudged his face. Duke began to lick his face. Chuck put his arm around his dog and buried his face in his fur. He didn’t want anyone from the team to know he was struggling so much. Men were not supposed to show emotions. They were used as a sign of weakness. He knew from experience though, that if he didn’t deal with what they had just been through it would come out as nightmares. The emotions would cripple his ability to function as a member of the team. He clung to his dog as silent tears were soaked up by his fur. He hugged Duke tight. It was some time later that the tears had stopped. He slowly managed to relax. He curled up on the floor around his dog and fell asleep. He relived events of the past few days in his dreams. He was grateful that when he woke up he felt better. He didn’t remember the dreams. He was grateful when someone handed him some warm bottled water and an MRE. He pulled Duke’s pack out and offered his dog some water and food. Once he was done he took care of the trash and cleaned up after Duke.

He stood and made his way towards the part of the plane with chairs. He sat down across from Boraro. He held his hand out to the man, giving him a firm warm shake. “Hello, I don’t think we have met. I am Chuck Simmons, callsign Boomer. And this is my partner, Duke.” He laid a hand comfortingly on Duke’s head. “Nice to meet you. Thank you for your help in getting everyone out. We couldn’t have done it without you.” He nodded his head in the general direction of where Skye was. He knew that Skye might not have made it out without his help.

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Chaos Escort Through Unfriendly Skies

Samantha pulled the F-35 engines slider all the way back as she built up the speed for takeoff. The rumble of the jet engines gave her a feeling of the power of the fighter. It was a powerful feeling. It was one of the things she loved about flying. She smiled as she remembered where she had learned how to fly the jets. She had learned in a simulator when Uncle Sam wanted her help to fix their planes. She had it built into her contract with them that she would only work on the project if the US Military taught her how to fly their jets. They had never intended for her to get into a cockpit. She had explained that she needed to experience what was happening during an actual flight to figure out the issue. She probably could have figured it out without it but she had wanted to learn to fly fighter jets. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. She had done exceptionally well and it had helped her solve the issue they were having with the design. It turned out to be a faulty sensor that was not rated for the g-force that the new craft would pull in some of the dogfighting maneuvers. Once she had tried the upgraded sensor the aircraft worked as intended and Uncle Sam was happy with the results.

Her attention was brought back to the current situation as Oracle reported that the team had inbound aerial assets to cover the team and that they were headed to Tokyo. Samantha had been compartmentalizing like a champ. She frowned as the present situation reasserted itself in her consciousness. Samantha replied to Oracle. “Chaos confirms new orders Oracle. New heading Tokyo Haneda airport where I will rejoin the team on the A400 and leave the F35. The A400 will then be going to Pöyrisjärvi, Finland.” Samantha had Bob switch to the Teams Comms. “Chaos to Raven Squad. New orders from Oracle. We are enroute to Tokyo for refueling before moving onto to Finland. I will be rejoining you in Tokyo.” Samantha made sure the entire team heard the update from her. She wanted them to know she had their back. Samantha looked over the telemetry in her fighter. She saw the incoming support fighters moving to intercept Artemis helicopters that were launching off their boats which had been in pursuit of the team.

She switched to comms just for Vincent. “Chaos to Hawk, thank you for flying the unfriendly skies with Chaos Air. Our friends have moved in to intercept unfriendlies in the area. Skies should be clear all the way to Tokyo.” She smiled at Vincent's reply before her brain couldn’t help going back to the events of the last few hours.

She had Bob switch to a private comms line between her and Skye. “Chaos to Queen.I am in the F35 and doing okay. I am flying cover for the A400. How are you doing? And How is the team? I heard something about Freya being injured.” She bit her lip as she waited for Skye to talk to her. “Talk to me Skye.”

She deliberately shied away from reliving the events of the last few hours. She couldn’t afford the time to break down yet. She still had a plane to fly. She was hyper vigilant about checking the radar for anything in the skies near them. She felt responsible for making sure the team made it to Tokyo.

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Raven Squad Escape Boat

Collab with Skye, Chuck, Freya, Tiny Nord, Boraro, and NPCs Sophie, Tahlia, Javi, and Vincent

Chuck breathed a sigh of relief as one of the spotters at the railing caught sight of Queen and those with her. They were quickly helped aboard. Updates were given. Tahlia filled in Chaos and Oracle reporting what had been going on. He grabbed onto the railing as the last lines were untied and Javi backed the boat out and turned it around. The boat jerked under his feet as Javi gunned the boat and headed for open seas. Duke whined at his feet after following Tahlia back up to the main deck. Chuck gave in and knelt to pet Duke. He needed a little reassurance after the bumpy ride and no action. Duke was showing some signs of separation anxiety and Chuck knew why. He knew his canine partner needed some reassurance. “Its going to be okay buddy.” He knelt and kept a hand on Duke’s back.

Boraro made his way over to the boat, covering the distance in three shorter bounds between cover. He hadn’t bothered with the gangplank, instead jumping aboard with his jump pack, skidding on his feet to a stop along the wet deck and putting his kukri to use helping with the lines as they cast off. He stayed on the weather deck, ready to grab the nearest person without a life jacket and throw himself over the side at the first sign of impending doom until the two fighters gunning for them had been reported cleared out.

The danger having passed, at least for now, Ebrima retreated inside and took his helmet off, fishing a clean handkerchief out of a pouch to wipe the sweat off his scalp and brow. ”You’re drawing breath still, no?“ He turned to the other African French speaker when addressed, shaking the offered hand. ”We did not meet as enemies then.” The Cameroonian added with a cheeky grin. That was also the first time he had a chance to look around and take in his squadmates. First off, it looked like they were all alive, small miracle all things considered, though one of the heavies, the mad scientist, was looking rough though and Skye was likewise a prime candidate for a week off.

Vincent nodded to Boaro, a similar chuckle in his response.
“I expect not.” He gave an equally simple reply, looking across to the rest of the team, Skye in particular, who looked passed out, Sophie going from her to Freya’s side, who was quietly whispering.

“So, quick rundown as boss lady I imagine did not tell you. That there is Freya, you may know her mother and father, crazy fucking mercs, mec, I tell you they are wild. Do not even start on her sister, putain, she is so fucking hot it would be worth dying for and many men do. Chuck Simmons, former Marine, he wrecks people too, Tiny Nord is the same. Somehow, we recruited three of giants in heavy armor to our cause, but if you’ve ever fought one, you know it’s a good thing we have them on our side. Sam Dalton is a general purpose hacking wizard and CIA spook that hasn’t got a pilot’s license but knows how an F35 works, I know, Tahlia was our house keeper, now sniper, and well, the others work in support. Sophie, the medic, Raphael, signals intelligence, and Javi, mechanic and engineer. Good people.” It was a quick rundown from Vincent, who had to remind himself that indeed, the cast that made Raven was quite something.

“Skye, she is good. Harsh but fair. As I said, if she liked you, then you have done well.”

“Maybe that’s why everyone is still alive after today. Even without an infiltrator like they had, people of Artemis’ caliber should be able to anticipate what their enemies will do, to a significant degree. But put a group like this together, and it becomes impossible.” Ebrima mused, “It’s hard to anticipate two Onis charging into the middle of you, and absolutely impossible to guess what your enemy will do next if they themselves don’t know it yet.” He added on a more light-hearted note. In its current roster, Raven had everything one needed for a successful raid: The three medium operators were speed, Tahlia and Chaos were surprise and the three giants definitely had violence of action down.

Still, they were miles up shit creek, and although they had a figurative paddle and a literal good boat, Artemis just blew up the proverbial dock. Without facilities, they were just a group of exceptionally well-equipped vagrants that only had whatever fight was left in them, which wasn’t a lot. “I don’t suppose Raven had any safehouses they didn’t tell Queen about?” Given the nature of the infiltrator, they were probably going to be living in a shed in the woods before something else gets set up.

“These things usually work out. Raven is bigger than Skye is, from what I know little. But we’ll have something. Where we are going, the contingency, I believe is the start of that. And yes, it is rather chaotic. I suppose she has a knack for finding people who may not always fit. Makes them feel best doing this. We are so lucky we got out alive.” Vincent replied to Boaro’s query, putting an arm on his shoulder, chuckling.

“A baptism of fire, yes, but there is more to come. Good to meet you, Ebrima.” Vincent smiled back, the Senegalese’s warm charm coming back, even at an operative he knew full well could do some serious damage. The similarity was nice to have in the team, and even in spite of his pasty white skin, Vincent knew behind that was someone with a similar story, a similar heart to the one he had in Dakar. Kin, in a weird way, as he headed off up the deck, heading to check in on Javi.

Tiny Nord: “Alright, now can we go get somewhere before this thing sinks, and I become a submarine in… how deep of water this is?” he asked as he set his stuff back into its spot on the side of the boat. “Also, I know a few places for safe houses, but… they are in the middle of nowhere, a few in nice spots, but urban, and the others are in places like… Detroit, or Columbus.”

In the wheelhouse, Javi was concentrating on driving the boat. He had an uncustomary serious look on his face as he navigated the rocky harbor. He piled on the speed as soon as he could. There was more room in the wheelhouse. Word had come in that the team had made it on board of course and the others had gone up top to check in with Skye. Javi knew that he needed to get them out of there and put as much distance between them and the boats Artemis had waiting to attack the island. Samantha had really bought them some time with all her secret little preparations. He admired that woman’s devious mind.

Sophie had gone topside to check in on Skye and to see if anyone else needed medical attention. Sophie made a beeline to check in on Skye who she knew needed her help. She still felt guilty for her reaction to combat. She knew what she was signing up for but seeing it was still a shock. She had never seen that side of her teammates. Logically she knew they killed people in their line of work. Her natural psychological reaction to it embarrassed her. She wanted to apologize quietly to Skye as she checked her out. She also needed to check on Frigga who was going to crash eventually. She knew Freya was injured and had probably reinjured any healing she had done and made it worse. She would do what she could for the giantess to keep her in the fight a little longer.

Frigga…or well Freya as the battle high was starting to ebb away, had boarded up finally, leading the rear guard with Boomer. Once aboard she could feel the adrenaline almost flushing from her body. And with it gone, the acute feeling of all the pain, and fatigue hit her, seconds before the fact she reinjured her shoulders hit her. And she did her very best not to cry out in pain. But no one is completely immortal. She slumped a bit on the railing, her armor letting out a groan as if trying to voice her pain. And a soft, nearly imperceptible gasp hit the comms as Freya’s hubris hits her hard. At Least she’s out of sight right? She can be mortal for a bit. She finally drops to the deck, luckily still looking back behind them, to watch as the island begins to fall behind them. With a slow motion she reaches up and unseals her upper armor, and reaches back to press a hand to the burning hot skin of her shoulders, yep, those muscles aren’t going to like her soon. Whatever she tore or hurt before, had been retorn and rehurt in this fight. That drug she’d been given was only able to cover up the injury. She’d be paying for it more later. So there she sat, and let herself wallow. Whispering to herself, “Isn’t this a fine shit show we’ve gotten ourselves into.”

Sophie had gone topside to check in on Skye and to see if anyone else needed medical attention. The giantess of the team was wincing, and while she tried to hide, nobody expected the Swiss inquisition. She made her way through the door, and sat by her side, the top of her armour dislodged out and revealing the shoulder blade that was, by usual metrics, pretty bad.

“Freya….okay, sit still. I would prefer you awake.” She called, starting to get to work, putting the diagnostics in and holding herself close.

“You wrecked my work, but you’re not out of it yet. Right. No use of that arm. I’m going to put a splint on it and hold it immobile in that arm until we fix this long term. Chuck will do the hand to hand fighting if we get any more. You use that other arm of yours for now. No hammer work, nothing. Else I will be fitting you with a fucking prosthetic next. And your mother will kill me.” Sophie added, resting up by her side, and getting to work. Tablet by her side, surgical kit adjacent to that, Sophie was a professional, moving from one patient to her next. Anesthetics were limited, but Freya was a big girl, with her disinfected needle in her arm, Sophie looking tiny next to Freya. It was safe to say Freya’s bust was probably the size of Sophie’s entire top half, it was like a mouse tending to a lion.

“You did well though, Frigga. Tell me how your day is going so far.” Sophie nonchalantly called, wanting to let her patient talk, so she would at least not think about how painful this bit would be.

Freya was just out of it enough that she didn’t react to Sophie until she felt the hands rest on her shoulder. And she’d deny it later but she let out a bark of surprise and a jump of shock. But her calm returned quickly and she turned her head enough to be able to see Sophia out of the corner of her eye, “Oh hey Doctor, oh don’t you worry, you’d have time to run, Moms would kill me first, then turn me over to my Dad and sibs before going after you. You’d have about an hour to make yourself scarce!” Her voice went from low to high in the last moment feeling Sophie begin to work, no she wasn’t in pain, you’re in pain. She gulped and nodded infinitesimally, looking at the floor, looking low, looking tired, outwardly probably the most she’s going to show externally for how much they’ve been through.

She took a bit letting Sophie poke and prod and work. Then said “My day…my days. I killed someone who looked like my boss, stomped them almost into a paste. I tore my shoulder up so bad that at first it would have taken weeks. Now it’ll take more weeks. I sat on a bomb, fought some shadowy organization that wants to hurt my friends..oh balls! Easy doc!” She asks plaintively as she feels needles and the surgical implements move around. She took a shaky breath, ignoring that Sophie has her opened up back there, and it’s just by sheer luck that her shoulder hurts more then Sophie having opened her up. The body can do wonderful things somehow. She chuckles, keeping herself from shaking, “I’m good Sophie, I’m good. I could complain, but where’s the fun in that? I’m more worried about Skye, about Sam. That’s my job I guess though. To worry about others. That’s what the Heavies like me do right? We take the heat, so you, and Sam, and Javi and the others don’t have too. I just hope Skye and Sam are okay with the extra heat and work. Is it wrong for me to want to mother the hell out of the both of them?”

“They’ll be okay. They’re tough girls, and so are you. Right, let me finish this up. Deep breath, Freya, this bit really hurts. You’re rather powerful, so please do not hit me with your other arm when I do this.” Sophie added, taking the sharp needle, and taking her almost torso-sized muscular arm, pushed it back up, and, “POP”.

“There. That’s stable, easy now. Strap is tight on it, don’t do anything stupid with it or we’ll have to do that again. Until I can fit another heart inside of you, or prosthetics, this flesh and bone will do.” Sophie reassured her, albeit with a little annoyance on the venom at the end given how badly Freya had hurt it to begin with. Giants were made of something else- their physiology in itself was freakish, and Freya had a heart that was twice the size of even Skye’s to keep her going. She had always wondered if she needed a second one, or perhaps enhanced organs on that inside to make her really live to potential. That would be her next rotation, she pondered internally, but not for now, given keeping the large girl functioning was priority one, turning her into a lunatic would come next.

“Now, I’ll let you rest on. I’m gonna see how Skye is doing. Fucking hell, why does she have to be so difficult. First ribs, now a fucking clone. I have enough problems with one of her.” Sophie mused, annoyed, yet in a way that Freya would probably empathize with- stitching people together may have been what she was good at, but continuously to everyone after every mission was certainly getting exotic.

Freya gave a cough, she had expected every second of it, but wrecking your shoulder, having it covered over by painkillers and drugs, and then wrecking it again, having it opened up and tended too then having it popped back proper and then closed up, all of that finally gets the big girl to let out a sob of pain. It’s quick, it’s brief, it’s small, but it’s pain. She almost melts against the bulkhead wall right beside her. She takes a moment then reaches out and hugs Sophie with her one good arm, “I’m glad you’re on our side Sophie hunny. Thank you, I’ll be good for now. Go tend to our fearless leader, and remind me to get you something good to drink at our next permanent port of call. You do the Gods work Sophie.” She smiled and nods, putting a good face on, and waiting for Sophie to step away. Before she slumps.

It’d be a few minutes later when one of the security team would find her, and cover her with a thermal blanket, the giant out cold, even goddesses need a nap.

Tahlia had gone up on deck to get everyone’s update before heading below decks. She was keeping in contact with Oracle per Chuck’s request. She could have done it from where she was on the deck but now that the boat was moving, she was struggling to move around some. She wanted to sit in one of the chairs in the wheelhouse and get off her legs for a few minutes. They were aching and hot. The wind made it hard to talk as well. She wanted to be sure communications were as clear as she could make them. She collapsed into a padded seat that was bolted to the floor that swiveled. She reported back to Oracle who filled her in on the escape plan. She filled Javi in on the plan and gave him the coordinates. She watched as he plugged the information into the GPS on the ship's console. He turned the boat onto a new heading as they left the mouth of the harbor. Tahlia’s eyes widened as she heard Chaos telling them about the two jets on an intercept course. She turned to Javi with wide eyes. That insufferable man had the gall to look smug.

Javi was aware when Tahlia came back into the wheelhouse. He was always aware of where the Kiwi was. His expression turned from serious back to mischievous as he heard her talking into the comms. He paid attention to driving the boat. He didn’t want to hit an underwater shoal or reef because he was too busy staring at the attractive woman sitting behind him. He heard her gasp as the report came in that two jets were inbound. “Don’t worry so much Tahlia. You do know I upgraded the boat right?” He turned and gave her a lascivious wink as he wiggled his eyebrows at her. “You know I had fun hiding what we didn’t want other people to see…. Right?” Javi reached over and lifted a plexiglas cover and pushed the red button underneath it. You could hear motors whirring and a grinding noise came from the upper deck. “There are only two jets. We have a SAM launcher. It should be able to handle two jets if we are lucky.” A good pilot could outfly a single SAM but he was betting surprise would be on their side. They had no way of knowing what this boat was capable of. If Artemis was smart, they should anticipate anything with this team. The SAM launchers were hidden by what looked like cargo crates tied down on the upper deck. What Tahlia heard was the shell moving away and the launcher coming up and activating to defend them.

Skye woke back up, the Scot grogging as the launcher popped back up, and fired off a round, the missile off the rail and soaring into the sky. The boat lurched, as the round flew into the sky, the Scot watching on and a little confused, but just suffering the effects of what was swirling around her.

“Still hanging on? How are you feeling?” Sophie queried, sitting back down next to her, rather than over, a friend yet professional in her demeanor. She did have that look about her, that she wanted to keep Skye talking rather than asleep.

“Yeah, all good here. You look like you have questions. More than the usual. Go on, I can tell.” Skye replied, sitting on up, wiping her face and taking her gloves off, attaching them to her plate carrier.

“So, how is it that a clone of you happened, and well, can go from body to body like yours? I would love to know this. I know it’s the holy grail in medical research, all of this work. Zero records of mine show any trace of it in your genetic trail, it seems completely, utterly normal. Random almost.” Sophie started, knowing that while now was probably a good time, it would at least keep her patient engaged, and maybe, trying to use her logic. That Skye had, even if sometimes it was more just the percussive maintenance she made on things.

“I know you had good genes, Frau Lyons, but nothing shows manipulation and you have nothing that would indicate you are going to drop dead sooner because of it. They must have been exceptionally good at it. I am envious.” Sophie retorted, the Swiss Doctor almost showing a level of impressiveness, and well, making Skye chuckle, a reaction to her dry, yet somewhat caring demeanor. She was a smart girl that Sophie, but not one that would sugar coat anything. If Skye was stoic and so was Tahlia, then Sophie was in a way that was distinctly Germanic, very….efficient, not angry.

Skye shrugged, knowing there was no easy way to answer that.

“I have no idea. Rose said my ... .adoptive, father, he was good at that. To a point where he realized what he’d have to do. Said he took me home after I was some defective product of a splitting process, due to some weird reason. More or less duplicating Rose’s personality in a copy of her body and leaving me a version of her. Or I guess leaving behind one in her and putting her in me. One of those ways around. I think I share the same memory as her prior to that? It hurts. A lot. Maybe that’s why I want to be sick.” Skye seemed a little confused, yet was trying to unravel, if not make some sense.

“Aha. I see. That is mystical indeed. I couldn’t even imagine how you attempt to try such a thing. I would have to imagine, it would take a genius computer scientist, geneticist, neuroscientist and surgeon to even try, and the success would be remarkably low. They did it. And she must be adamant in it every time. It was natural something would perhaps…..go wrong, as you say, but you are here and well. And much more sane, from the sounds of it.” Sophie observed, clinical in her monitoring, yet querying.

Skye looked on, a little perplexed by Sophie’s wonder. It wasn’t helping, but it was just pure and utter curiosity.

“Am I alright, Doctor? Like, how the fuck does that even happen?” Skye simply wondered out loud, saying the words, Sophie putting her hand into Skye’s. This wasn’t a Doctor’s question, more a moral one.

”Nonsense, Frau Lyons. You are fine. If anything, as freak as an accident it was, your humanity seems to persist if you wonder about it. And perhaps you have it the wrong way around. If there was anything wrong, we’d have clocked it. There’s no biomechanical device inside of you, after all.” Sophie replied, sighing as she sat up, knowing Skye wouldn’t like this, but it had to be said.

“For what it’s worth, I did take a look just in case there were any issues. I like to keep on top of my problem patients, and the initial autopsy for Rose came back to me also, an assessment I did not want to make until we had all the details and I had this cleared. Doctor’s confidentiality, but….indeed, she was right, but half right from what you said to me. Identical in genetics to you, bar one key component- cell degradation happens differently. Hers is not correct. It’s typical in animal clones, epigenetically, cell replication is not ever as reliable or sensical. The telomeres on the end strands of her DNA are not sufficient to protect the strand itself on replication, meaning it starts splintering more, and more, and more ... .they start redacting, doing weird things, and well, falling apart. That’s why clones die early. You cannot manufacture a human being to be the same without consequence…it’s the ultimate cruelty and why it’s banned, and why it’s not exactly done publicly. It would kill you before you hit your teenage years from birth, and a problem that cannot be overridden so easily because the human body seems to fight it- of course, Rose being built for it can override that significantly better, but it affects her still the same, meaning if any of her bodies are in a synthetic womb, that is the only reason they don’t disintegrate. That in itself is a medical challenge, growing a full sized adult human female in isolation identical to yours from scratch and perhaps dozens of them, but well, lesser than destroying the very makeup of your genetics, what you literally are, to lose the neural pathway she would require to an identical mind….which I suppose, is rather fascinating. The reason she jumps bodies is because that degradation happens, once active, it will keep happening, and happening, and happening, giving her likely a few years to live at a time. Your DNA itself may have been tampered with, but I’d almost wonder if it was you that was the original, if you think that a version of you were birthed via IVF and only via some genetic tampering. Perhaps Rose is the one that must continue doing this, and she dies over and over….and will never be able to break the cycle unless she finds something to fix it. Her immortality is made of porcelain, and dependent on there always being a body, always being a failsafe. She believes she’s the original because well, how would she know any other way, she after all shares that memory with you, and perhaps the background, no? That to me is science fiction, but….if so, the man that engineered you must have loved you very much to know he would never have to see his daughter die. And it would explain much of why she is perhaps the way she is. Spiteful and angry because she’ll keep dying and never had that love. Based on just that alone, I think you are fine. If I am wrong, then our next problem is giving you palliative care and understanding how lucky you are to be alive for this long. And I’d spend whatever time I could to keep alive, Skye.”

It was a hell of a heavy thing to take, but Sophie seemed clinical, if not willing to explain. Genetics were exceptionally complex- heaped on top of a whole heap of science-fiction level difficulty in doing what Rose did, which straight up may as well have been magic to Sophie, that base level assessment would at least be the start of how this worked.

Skye’s eyebrows rolled. This just got really, really sciency, and really, horribly heavy.

“Did everyone set up their own shit in the background? Not that I’m mad now, but holy crap, it leaves a wide open trail of paperwork…..though I appreciate it somewhat. Comes in handy in a moment like this, eh. That is a lot to take in. And I appreciate the detail. Makes sense, and well….perhaps relieving to know she might be full of shit too. Megalomaniacal fuckers are though, no shock there, but this is a ton.” Skye sighed, somewhat disappointed from a leader's point of view, but still, captivated. From Sam’s SAMs to Freya’s experiments, she allowed a lot- but knew it returned the favor right here and now.

“That is kind. I appreciate you taking the time to explain that. At least, figure this out.” Skye replied, Sophie giving a warm nod, the doctor annoyed with Skye more often than not, but genuinely, under all of it, caring and if anything, fascinated.

“You have a team of renegades, including me. You are just as bad at this. Yet you are rather good at knowing how to find people who do not sometimes follow the trend, will work for themselves yet deliver, if I must say so myself. I follow the letter, but Skye, we are a team, and sometimes, help needs to come from that. So look, rest, and I know you’ll work that bit out later.” Sophie called back, and with that, knew she had to tend to a few other bits.

---

Wellington Airport, New Zealand

Javi was grateful that the tide was coming in which helped him get the boat closer to shore. Javi called out in a loud voice “Brace for impact. We are going in. It is going to be a bumpy ride!” His brow furled as he concentrated on navigating in. Once he was past the reef the sandy beach and ocean floor allowed him to run the fishing vessel up onto the beach. To get the heavy boat up onto the beach he had to come with more speed that he would have preferred. He cut the engine and let the boat coast up onto the shore. The weight and speed of the boat did the rest. The resistance and friction slowed it down some but the whole boat lurched as the boat began to bottom out close to shore. The speed slowed even as the boat plowed up onto the beach. Then it listed slightly to one side as it settled on the keel. The side of the ship a good 10 feet from the sand. “Okay folks time to debark.” Javi turned and spotted Taniwha. She had been thrown from the chair she had been in when they hit the beach.

Tahlia had been concerned and worried they would be swimming when she had heard about the jets. She shouldn’t have been surprised that Javi had added extras when he upgraded the boat. It was what he was hired to do after all. She relaxed after Chaos sent word that the skies were clear and covering them. She got lost in thought and was broken out of it when Javi yelled brace for impact. Taniwha did her best to brace herself. The jolt when the boat hit the sandy bottom threw her from the chair onto the floor. She then found herself sliding to one side of the room as the boat settled on it’s side. Taniwha found herself against the wall of the wheelhouse. She had hit her head when she was thrown from the chair. She blinked up at Javi with a confused look shaking her head as if that would clear it.

Javi immediately went to Tahlia. He didn’t hesitate as he moved towards her. Javi scooped her up and into his arms. He looked down at her with concern. He noticed that she had a small cut on her head and was bleeding a little. She looked a little confused. He got even more worried when she didn’t fight with him about it or argue. She wrapped her arms around his neck to steady her body in his arms. He would never admit to her how much he enjoyed that. He began to carry her out of the wheelhouse which was no easy feat with the boat at an angled slant. He kept sliding on the deck as gravity pulled at him.

Tahlia was confused and her head hurt. She was seeing double. She couldn’t seem to find her center of balance. She was feeling stunned like the breath had been knocked out of her. Then the world seemed to right itself. Warmth surrounded her and she felt weightless. She looked at Javi and blinked seeing two of him. She frowned as she struggled to understand what was happening. She didn’t like feeling out of control or vulnerable. She felt both at that moment. She instinctively put her arms around Javi’s neck to steady herself. It was a natural movement. She closed her eyes as her head began to pound.

Javi made his way onto the deck with Taniwha in his arms. He looked around to see how the rest of the team was doing. He saw that Chuck was already on his feet. Duke looked shook but was right by Chuck’s side.

Chuck had watched as the jets flew over the boat. He had covered Duke and as many of his smaller teammates as he could as the jets strafed the boat. He had caught the dogfight and hoped he was never that close to one ever again. He appreciated Samantha’s skill as kept the two fighters engaged and away from the boat. The strafing had taken chunks out of the deck leaving potholes behind. He had kept a hand on Duke and one curled around the boat rail to steady them both. He had tensed up watching the shore come closer. Duke had yelped at the jolt when the boat hit the shoreline. Chuck held on until the boat settled on its side. He then began to move. He easily jumped over the side of the boat and held up his arms and called Duke. It was an easy drop to the shore for his tall frame. It was less than a 3 foot drop for him. His canine partner jumped without any extra encouragement right into his arms. He caught the heavy muscular dog with ease and set him on the ground. He gave him a quick reassuring pat. “Your okay buddy.” He gave one last pet down the back. “Guard Duke” He had Duke guard his back as he turned to help others off the boat.

Javi watched as Chuck went right over the rail and dropped to the beach. He was impressed when Duke leaped right over the rail into his outstretched arms. They really were an exceptional canine pairing. He went towards Chuck. “Oy mate. I need a hand with Tanwha. I think she has a concussion.” He waited until Chuck was in position and then carefully handed the woman down to Chuck. He almost fell over the railing trying to pass her to him. Chuck seemed to take her weight easily as she reached his outstretched arms. He then followed her over the rail. He would leave Chuck who was much taller and stronger to help get others off the boat. Javi sat Tahlia down and began to check over her injuries. He could feel a huge lump on her head with the cut in the middle of it. When he checked her out one of her pupils was dilated and the other was fine. She definitely had all the telltale signs of a concussion.

He asked Tahlia “How are you doing? How do you feel?”

Tahlia was feeling sick to her stomach and she had the world’s worst headache. She did her best to cooperate with Javi and Chuck but was aware that she was woozy and uncoordinated as hell. She hated feeling this way. She was a strong independent badass woman warrior not a weakling that needed protection. Her stomach dropped as she was handed over the rail to Chuck. She found herself sitting on the beach and looking up into Javi’s rugged face. “My head hurts, I have an upset stomach, and my butt is cold.”

Javi was grateful to see some color return to her face and to hear her snark return. He was really worried about her. He told her to stay put as he went to help Chuck with others coming down off the boat. He wanted Sophie to check out Tahlia before they headed to the airport.

Sophie was one of the first people off the boat. Chuck helped her down to the beach with Javi who told her he thought Tahlia had a concussion. She went quickly to check her out. She definitely had a concussion. She didn’t know how bad though. She could give her some meds to help her out till they were safe. She gave her a shot of pain killers and something for the nausea.

Tahlia found herself at Sophie’s ministering hands. She breathed a sigh of relief as the drugs she gave her helped take away the edge of the pain and she no longer felt like she was going to throw up her toenails. “Thanks Sophie.” Her head cleared a little and she was able to think again. She then found herself being hauled to her feet by Skye. “Hey Boss.”

With a gentle hop, Skye dropped down, offering a hand to Tahlia to help out Chuck, before clambering down from the rocks and up the beach, towards the southern perimeter road of the runway on the isthmus.

"Fuck me." Skye could only exclaim, sarky and cold as ever, Tahlia shaking her head in response.

"I think you really shouldn't say that when you've killed your doppelganger twice in one day." Tahlia's dry, dark and deeply spirited response got a cackle from Skye, that weird bond between the two hitting so hard when she was at the bottom of her barrel, shaking her head as she looked back.

"Yeah....shame to lose home. Fuck, I'll miss it, weirdly. You holding up okay?" Skye enquired, the prosthetics of Tahlia clacking back, with her giving a quiet nod. She was feeling pretty weary with everything, and right now, didn't have a proper reaction for all that had happened. For now, she awaited Skye's response, as the team bundled down and off the boat, the Scot having some idea of what to do, from the memorized contingency plan. Chaos would brief the team on it, but Skye already knew it internally.

Tahlia shook her head “I am fighting a concussion and feel wobbly. I will pull my weight and pull through though.” Tahlia looked at Skye and she could see that Skye was feeling about as bad as she was. “How are you holding up boss?”

Skye shook her head, not feeling great herself, but well, not wanting to admit all of it.
“Well, not great. But I’ll live. Probably.” Skye replied, shrugging her shoulders, the exo active again and able to carry her weight, and her weaponry once more, as she clambered down, and started to round the team up as they came down, the support team, any remaining guards, and with that, directing them towards the airport.

Tahlia nodded as she gained her feet and was feeling better. She was able to move better. “Right let’s get to safety first.” She moved in the direction that Skye indicated. She was feeling not a 100% but functional again thanks to Sophie. She raised her gun and scope to her eye and began to look into the distance at the airport not far from the beach. “I don’t see anything other than the standard security you would expect at an airport.” Her scope moved slowly over the airport a few hundred yards from the beach.

Chuck had helped everyone off the boat. He gathered up the guards and got into a loose formation headed towards the airport. Skye was in the middle with Tahlia and Javi. He moved up to take point. “Boomer has point.” He spoke over the comms and moved to the front to act as recon and to take hits away from the team. As a heavy, his armor could take it and they were not exactly going for stealth. He used hand signals to direct the extra guards. He had the extras on the outside of the team. Frigga and Nord was covering the rear of their formation as they moved out. They moved quickly but were not sprinting. Chuck simply tore through the chain link fence. It was no match for his strength, especially augmented by his suit. The team was quickly moving across the ground inside the airport perimeter headed towards the outbuildings off the tarmac.

The team followed fire and safety protocols as they moved quickly through the airport. They could see airport security guards were nervous about them but following the orders to let them through. They were not happy about it. The team made it to the plane without any further incidents.

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Kaitiaki Homestead, Raven HQ

Leaving HQ

Chaos had managed to take out the two MIGs but they had drawn her pretty far from base. She checked how much fuel and ammo she had left. She had turned back towards the base. She had managed to clear the threats that could stop the boat from taking off towards safety. There were still Artemis naval assets in the area but they didn’t have long range missiles. They could get more troops ashore but not before her team got off the island. She prayed that everyone had made it to the boat. She had not gotten any updates from Chuck since he let her know that Frigga and Queen had not made it to the boat yet. Her thoughts going to a dark place where she lost family once again after finding them. The negative dark spiral of thoughts broken by Bob’s voice. “There are two F-18s inbound and while their transponders say they are US military jets, comms intercepted by Oracle make them to be Artemis assets. They are on an intercept course trying to stay below radar. Time to intercept is 15 minutes.” Samantha hit her afterburners as she moved to intercept the F-18s. They were fast enough and had enough firepower to blow that boat and her entire team sky high.

Samantha gritted her teeth. The MIGs had been a diversionary tactic to pull her out of position to support the escape boat. The pilots had been skilled but were nowhere close to her level of skill She breathed a sigh of relief as Tahlia reported that the escape boat was moving out with the remainder of the team on board. Javi was driving the boat. That left Samantha a little confused but whatever works. Oracle gave her an update on the escape plan. “Oracle they will be coming in hot if I can’t intercept these two F-18s.” Chaos focused on flying as Bob monitored sensors, comms traffic, and telemetry to keep her apprised of what was happening. “Chaos to Raven Squad. Be advised we have two inbound F-18s that appear friendly but comm chatter makes them Artemis assets. I am out of position and on my way back. Prepare any sea to air defense you can. Oracle has sent escape plan details. Get to those coordinates and head directly there. Beach the boat and don’t head for a dock. Get to that damn airfield as fast as possible.”

Chaos tried to stay loose and ready as the minutes ticked away. The escape boat was well away from the island and headed towards Wellington. Artemis’s naval assets were pursuing but her team had a great lead. Javi seemed to be making the most of the speed he could coax from the boat. They were about two thirds of the way to Wellington when the two F-18s made a pass at strafing boat and dropping missiles. She saw the missiles exploding before they could reach the boat. The boat had a single SAM unit with four missiles. The fighter pilots used chaf to escape the missiles. She hoped everyone on board was okay. She had finally managed to intercept them. The dog fight was fierce but over quickly. She called down to the boat. “Chaos will escort you in. Skies are clear for now.”

Chaos knew they had another issue. She would need to fly air cover for the cargo plane and she was low on fuel and ammo. She would need to get her bird refueled but she wasn’t sure if they would have any ammo for it. She got on the line to Oracle. “Oracle I will need to refuel at Wellington. I am almost out of ammo. Any chance of getting ammo replaced quickly?” Oracle acknowledged her request and said they would work on it. She could at least get fuel. She looked at her remaining ammo and winced. She only had one missile left and no chaf. She still had ammo for her cannon but if it was her primary weapon she was going to be in a world of hurt if they sent a deluge of assets after them. She covered the team as they made their way to the runway. She landed the jet and taxied over to the waiting fuel truck. The guys on the ground quickly got to work to refuel the jet as fast as possible. By the time the team had made it to the plane. She had been refueled and was taking off in front of the heavy cargo plane. She hoped those friendly assets made all the difference. She had to keep her head in the game. The team wasn’t safe yet.

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Hidden Escape Boat Docks

Boomer takes command of the boat

Chuck knew the shit had finally hit the fan. He had just come back from a balls to the walls op in Columbia to disarming a bomb hidden in the sofa in Raven Squad’s lounge room. It had been nonstop action and fighting since. He had no clue what was going on. He knew he would find out the details later. His training had kicked in and the name of the game was to survive to ask questions later. He had thinned out Artemis soldiers at the beach and on the dock before Samantha had taken out the pier with a drone. He had then made it back to the Land Rover and he, Javi, Samantha, Tahlia, and Duke fought their way towards the hidden airfield. They had made it and were piling out of the Land Rover when Samantha began to give them orders. Chuck knew that tone of voice and noticed the focused intent in Samantha’s eyes. For a second he thought she planned to die to get them all out in some kind of stupid hero moment thinking only she could save the day. He relaxed as she explained she was going to take the fighter jet on the runway up to provide air support. That he could get behind. He didn’t question her giving him orders. He shrugged that would have been the role he assigned himself anyway. He called Duke and gave him a quick and reassuring pet and rub taking the time to check in with his canine.

Chuck had Duke take the lead. “Search Duke.” He sent Duke ahead of the group to search out hidden enemies. Duke would find hidden soldiers easier than he could. He followed along behind Duke, his carbine held easily and casually pointed down, his hands relaxed on the gun. He followed after Duke his head swiveling from side to side watching potential ambush points and for enemies. Chuck’s attention was caught by Duke’s body language. Duke went still and tense. His head turned and his ears twitched. Chuck knew Duke well enough to know he heard something. Chuck motioned to Tahlia and Javi to pause with an upheld palm motioning them to stop. He held his finger to his mouth for silence. He moved quickly towards Duke. He had slunk into a lower posture and was moving forward. Chuck moved in a bent knee low crouch that looked awkward but allowed him to move quickly and provide a stable firing position so that he had a better chance to hit his targets. Duke was crawling on his belly now as he approached the side of the hanger opening.

Chuck could hear it now that he was closer. “Squad 421 reporting a hidden dock with a large fishing boat.” There was a pause and a barely audible reply mumbled over a radio. “Orders confirmed by Squad 421 destroy the boat.” Chuck felt that extra dump of adrenaline hit his system as his heart sped up. He turned back to look at Javi and held up a hand flashing 4 fingers. Most fireteams had at least 4 members. Hopefully Javi and Tahlia would interpret that appropriately. He almost laughed when Tahlia grabbed Javi and began pulling him towards to hanger wall and some crates there. Chuck moved quickly to take the lead and dashed around the edge of the wall and began firing his carbine. Duke moved with him and took out the man that had moved at him from the side. Duke leapt and his jaws went for the man’s throat. The man’s gun went off as he hit the ground but Duke’s body had forced it away from him. The shot went wide. Chuck took some hits to his armor but it was lower caliber guns. The bullets pinged off his armor. The men were down in seconds. He moved to back up Duke but the man’s eyes were already glazing over. He looked at Duke and gave him the command to release the man.
“Boomer to Raven Squad. Artemis knows about the boat. We need to leave. They have given orders to take it out.”

He then did a quick recon on both sides of the hanger covering the hidden airstrip. He then jogged back to where he had left Javi and Tahlia. “Its clear. Let’s get to the docks.” He motioned them to move out. He again took point and made a point of guarding them as they moved past him.

Tahlia growled at Javi as he tried to offer her assistance on the rocky path to the docks. “I don’t need help.” She swatted at his hand as he tried to grab her arm.

Javi gave her a saucy wink. “Maybe I wanted to hold your hand.” Javi loved verbally sparring with the proudful Kiwi. He knew he was taking his life into his own hands but he couldn’t seem to help himself when it came to her. He enjoyed riling her up. She turned the most delightful shades of red.

Tahlia just growled at him. “Remember I know how to use a gun and you have to sleep sometime Javi.” She gave him a sweet saccharine smile just before her prosthetic caught on a large rock and caused her to stumble. She went beet red and kept moving, not saying another word.

Chuck shook his head and let the grin take over his face. He was grateful for the faceplate in his helmet that hid his face. Tahlia would kill him if she thought he had witnessed that scene. She was a proud woman. Tahlia was like any proud warrior, they didn’t like to admit their weaknesses. Chuck could appreciate the strength of character and the struggle that her injuries had been to Tahlia. He didn’t know if he would have pulled through as well as the stoic woman. He was grateful to see that their were no more enemies hiding in the dock area.

Tahlia and Javi went up the gangplank onto the boat first. Chuck and Duke followed them up the short ramp. Chuck turned to those milling around on the deck. There were support staff he recognized like Sophie and a lot of miscellaneous guards that he didn’t.

“Tahlia, check in with the Captain of the boat and let them know the situation. Get on the comms and fill leadership in on the situation. Take Duke with you please.” He gave Tahlia a knowing look. He didn’t want Duke up here when the firing started. He couldn’t make much difference in a fire fight. He turned to Duke. “Guard Tahlia Duke.” He motioned him to go with Tahlia. Duke moved to Tahlia’s side. Tahlia gave him a dark unhappy look but nodded. She made her way to the wheelhouse to check in with the Captain.

Tahlia went into the wheelhouse on deck and was surprised to find it empty. No one had been monitoring comms. All the staff on board were support personnel. It appeared the people assigned to the boat were KIA or missing.

Chuck turned his attention to Javi. "Javi, go check in with the engineer and make sure the boat’s engines are on and we are ready to pull out as soon as the others get here.”

Chuck watched as Javi made his way to the ladder below decks before turning his attention to the rest of the people on deck. “If you are not prepared to be part of combat then get below decks and out of the way of bullets. Artemis has been told about the boat. We are expecting incoming. If you have weapons and want to help in the defense, move towards the bow.” He pointed to the relevant direction.

Javi made his way down the ladder below decks. He found the engine room and it was empty. He sighed and began priming and warming the engine. That way they could take off as soon as everyone was onboard. Contrary to popular belief, boat engines were not exactly like a car. There was a longer process to get everything up and running with this type of boat. After he primed the engine, he had to push a button to get rid of the excess fumes so they didn't blow the boat up. Then he could start the engine. It was an old boat but well maintained. He gave a satisfied smile as it roared to life and began to warm up. It settled down into an idling purr.

Chuck managed to get people moving and organized. Noncombatants were moving below decks and would not hinder firing lines now. He turned to the volunteers. “I want you to spread out and keep your eyes open. Call out threats as you see them. Keep your eyes on your arc and trust the person next to you to do the same. We all need to be watching for attacks from the air, sea, and ground.” He waited and watched as people moved into position. They now had people stationed along the edge of the boat, heads moving watching for incoming fire and enemies. It was the best they could do with what they had.

While Tahlia was debating what to do. She had been joined by Sophie and Rafael. They filled her in on what had happened with them. She shared what she knew of the situation with them. Now they were all up to speed. Tahlia did not have enough knowledge about boats to drive this one. She sighed knowing she was going to regret this. "Javi, I need you to come up to the wheelhouse when you are done in the engine room."

Javi cursed a blue streak wondering what was going on now after he received Tahlia's message. "I am on my way." He left the engine warming up and climbed back up to the main deck. He noticed that Chuck had managed to sort everyone and that his helpers were scanning for attack and prepared to repel boarders. He ducked into the wheelhouse to find Tahlia in there with Sophie and Rafael. "What's gone wrong now Tahlia?"

Tahlia looked at him with her hands on her hips. "You need to drive the boat." She pointed to the main console that looked the dash of a jet plane with levers, wheels, buttons, and lights everywhere.

Javi gave her a look filled with disbelief. "What do you mean I need to drive the boat? Don't we have a team dedicated to manning the boat?" Javi's head turned as he looked at Tahlia, then Rafael, and finally Sophie who were all shaking their head at him.

"They either didn't make it or were killed in action. None of us know how to drive the boat. That means your it. Congratulations, Captain. Don't let it go to your head. Now shut up and get over here."

Javi stared at Tahlia as his jaw dropped in surprise. He blinked at her for a moment in shock. He finally closed his mouth and grinned at her as his typical swagger and male machismo attitude reasserted itself."Well Tahlia, I must admit. I never thought you would allow me to give you orders." He began to walk towards the controls and look them over. He knew how to drive the boat. He maintained on it. He had taken it out to ensure it was well maintained and that upgrades worked. He could feel Tahlia's glare as ice running down his back. He was going to pay for that remark later. He just knew it.

Chuck now waited anxiously. He hoped the rest of the team was doing alright. He still had not seen Frigga, Queen, or Tiny Nord. His eyes widened when he heard Samantha’s report that the boat was being targeted by missiles. “Chaos be advised, boat is still docked and waiting for Queen, Frigga, and Tiny Nord.” Chuck began scanning the skies above the boat. He watched as Chaos seemed to magically show up in the nick of time to take out the missiles headed towards him. “I need a beer and a vacation.” He grumbled to himself.

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Chaos In Flight

The F35 jet that Samantha was flying was way faster than the gunship helicopters that had been the primary wave dropping troops off onto the island. Flying a helicopter is a completely different style to flying a jet. A helicopter moves slower and is a more stable platform for guns and dropping down to drop off troops and lift off again. Jets are fast and more maneuverable once in the air. They might need more space to take off and land but once in the air they can do things a helicopter can’t. This disparity had allowed her to dominate the skies as she took out one helicopter after another. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. She could strafe the whole line with her heavy 30MM cannons. She wanted to save her air to air and air to ground missiles for when she really needed them. This modified bird managed to carry more missiles than a standard model but only because someone had miniaturized the missiles making them lighter and smaller but still just as effective. She still only had so many missiles. The number of aircraft she needed to take out was staggering. Artemis had thought to overwhelm them with numbers in a shock and awe campaign. The sad part was it was working. They only had so many assets they could throw at them to stop them. This was a war of attrition. It didn’t matter how good your people were if they ran out of ammo to put in the weapons.

The drones had managed to thin out the initial wave of incoming enemy vehicles. This helped to create the break in the fighting so that the support personnel could reach the small naval cutter masquerading as a fishing boat. They would have been in trouble if she had not prepared her drone cache protocol as a backup to the base’s defenses. She had simply told Tahlia what materials she had wanted. She had not told her what they were for. Skye had trusted her and approved the materials order. She probably thought Sam was building another AI system or trying to improve the one she had. She had developed and built AI systems for the suits she had upgraded such as Chuck’s. Samantha had built hidden caches all over the island that were fiberglass shells that housed the drones and their charging systems. They were camouflaged and designed to blend into the environment. Small solar panels shunted enough power to the drones to keep them charged. When the base alarm triggered it had triggered the protocols to release the drones. The drones were programmed to attack any vehicle or aircraft that was not registering as belonging to Raven Squad. Samantha had worked with Javi to develop a special paint that would designate Raven Squad aircraft and vehicles. The smaller drones were packed with explosives and programmed to magnetically lock to the targeted vehicle and set off their payload. There had been a hundred drones that had taken out boats, armored vehicles, and numerous troop carrying helicopters and gunships. Without that help, Raven Squad would have already been overrun.

Samantha had ensured that the bases SAM’s (surface to air missile launchers) couldn’t be hacked by providing them with individual AI guided tracking and guidance systems separated from the main base. She was grateful for that insight after watching the way Artemis targeted their computer control area of the base. That led to another disgusting and nasty thought that they knew where Raven Squad was and had enough intel to know what was on base. Had Rose infiltrated the base prior to this masquerading as Skye? That thought turned her stomach but made sense.

Samantha pushed those thoughts away and focused on her task which was getting her friends and family off this base. Her eyes narrowed as she slipped into the zone. She pulled the F35 around and started another attack run on a row of incoming gunships. She fired the 30MM autocannons and strafed their V line formation as she screeched by at high speed. She pulled up and around and was satisfied to see explosions and helicopters dropping from the sky. Samantha’s attention was caught by Bob as he told her “Chaos the support ships out at sea are firing missiles. Projected target is the hidden airfield. Your take off revealed it.” Samantha cursed and called out over coms “Raven Squad incoming missiles targeting the airfield. Move your asses!” She flew to intercept the missiles. “Bob target the missiles with autocannon targeting and chaf. Let’s see if we can pull those missiles off course.” Samantha didn’t have long to wait. They managed to take out the two missiles targeting the hidden airfield. She pulled the jet around and started a run on the ship that had fired.

Samantha seemed to merge with the AI and the high speed plane she was flying as she wove the plane around the incoming fire from other support ships as she targeted the ones firing missiles. She targeted them with the air to surface missiles. Her aircraft screamed past the ships their fire failing to be fast enough to catch her. She pulled around as a pair of MIG fighter jets fell in behind her. She was suddenly on the defensive. Dodging right and left. She dove and then pulled up in a hard barrel roll. The MIGs flew by underneath her as she pulled around. The Gs she was pulling would have caused her to black out if she had not hooked into the onboard oxygen system designed to integrate with her suit. She noticed the new gel ballistic padding she had added helped her tolerate the Gs better. She just smiled as her pulled the trigger and watched the guided missiles find their marks. She pulled back around and headed back towards the island. The firefight had taken her away from the island.

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Kaitiaki Homestead, Raven HQ

Chaos rains from the sky

Javi’s adrenaline was pumping. It had been years since he had been in the shit. He was out of practice for this kind of excitement. It was a wonder he hit anything with the way his hands were shaking from the adrenaline. He had gotten comfortable with Raven Squad and felt secure. He hadn’t realized how much it had impacted him until he was thrown back in the deep end. Watching the place that had been his home being invaded and blown up left him angry. He knew the kind of work Raven Squad did. He never regretted joining their ranks. He used that energy to stay in the fight. He had been firing the heavy machine guns at targets of opportunity down the hill. He felt a deep gratification when he saw enemy troops going down.

Chuck let out a roar of frustration. He was not able to stem the tide of enemy troops. For every one he took out, three more seemed to make it to the beach. He quickly slid the underbarrel grenade launcher into position and took off running down the hill. He would make a difference here. He needed to make sure the support staff could pull out. He sprinted down the hill. The polymer and hydraulic assists built into his suit allowed him to move faster than he could on his own even in heavy armor. He hit the enemy line like a fully loaded freight train. He didn’t stop and just crushed anyone in his way knocking them aside like bowling pins. He was firing grenades into clumps of soldiers targeting the officers in exos giving them orders. He grinned and pulled Lucille off his back, while dropping his gun to hang on his tactile sling. He gripped up on the handle of his long metal club that looked like a solid metal baseball bat with spikes. He began to spin the club and swing it large arcs taking out two to four men at a time. He grinned as this was working faster. He targeted an exo officer who managed to dodge and avoid getting hit the first time. He didn’t miss with the backswing though. The side of the exo crumpled and pinned the man as he screamed in pain as the crushed metal cut into his body. Chuck just kept going. The soldiers were attempting to get away from him now. Those who had seen what he had done to the exo were trying to get out of the line of fire. He had them routed now. The constant stream of soldiers that had been unloading on the beach had slowed.

Tahlia was standing in the backseat with her body braced on the roll bar. She used the solid support to brace her body and keep her steady. The vibrations from the heavy machine gun Javi was firing was throwing off her aim a little and was distracting as he worked next to her. She inhaled and put her eye to the scope and began to scan the area they were working to cover. She began to fire at targets of opportunity when she saw Chuck pass her scope in a mad dash towards the docks. She stopped shooting long enough to search the area. She whistled appreciatively at the destruction he was leaving in his wake. Sure enough Chuck was in the thick of it bogged down by the sheer numbers surrounding him. She saw a new squad trying to flank him by offloading directly on the beach behind him. She aimed at the exo wearing commander and aimed for his head. She took a deep breath and pushed out all the distractions and fired on the exhale. She was rewarded with a spray of red indicating she had hit her target. She began to pump bullets into the group of soldiers behind Chuck as fast as she could since she didn’t have to worry about hitting him.

Duke remained curled into the ball where Chuck had ordered him to stay. His fur was standing on end bushed out. His body was rigid with tension and stress. He was panting heavily.

Samantha had a better view of what they were facing as she piloted the drone and pulled her focus into her HUD. She piloted the drone to support Chuck at the beach. She had already strafed the beach to take out some of the soldiers there. She came back around and targeted the docks so they could not unload troops as easily. She hit it with high caliber rounds shredding the wooden dock. She saw Chuck was doing a good job slowing down the tide of incoming troops and those that had already made it ashore. She took the drone up high to get a better view of what was incoming. She took in a sharp breath at what she saw. It looked like New Zealand was being invaded when you looked at the number of assets being leveraged against the base. It looked like the beginning of World War III. She began to target the incoming helicopters and took down two gunships. The drone had been clipped but was still in the air.

She came around for another pass and noticed that the submarine was still launching missiles and farther out to sea were support ships holding off at a good distance. They needed to get out of there. Artemis was throwing everything they had at them and the kitchen sink. They had not committed all the assets they had brought to the party which begs the question of how many assets they can really bring to bear. That thought was terrifying. She had no sooner had that thought when Skye came over coms ordering the retreat. Samantha had taken over official command from Skye according to Oracle protocols which was something she understood but didn’t agree with. Samantha needed to send it out over coms as well to be sure everyone was notified. She wasn’t sure if Skye was still linked into everyone’s comms as leader.

She heard Skye say: "Chaos, last batch of the support team are going to make a beeline through tunnel. Recommend we get the hell out. Frigga, Tiny Nord, cover each other and retreat, I'm going to try and lay down fire and cover you, just make a move and run. Do not get bogged down in fighting, clear who you have to, they pincer you and you'll be toast. There's a thin forest track we can use to get to the RV. Chaos, take your group and get to the RV with the Land Rover, disengage and get back. I've one last thing to sort."

Samantha frowned as she spoke into team comms “Boomer get back to the Land Rover. We need to pull out. Taniwah cover his retreat. Javi get ready to get us out of here. Raven Squad is ordered to retreat. We are pulling out. Repeat. Raven Squad is ordered to retreat. We are pulling out.” She switched over to individual comms so she could send a private message to Skye. “Well get it sorted Queen and get your ass to the boat. You had better be on the boat or I am coming back for you.” Samantha was worried about Queen, who had suffered a serious shock. It would be like her to feel responsible for everyone and do something stupid. She wouldn’t stop Queen from doing what she felt she needed to do but she would step in if sees her needlessly throwing her life away. There would be no suicide by Artemis on her watch.

Chuck was in the middle of clearing a mob on the beach. The stream of enemy troops landing had slowed to a trickle after Samantha took out their pier with the drone. Lucille was quickly becoming his favorite weapon. It just worked so great up close and personal to rain destruction in a short amount of time. The weapon was only able to be wielded due to his size and strength which added to its destructive kinetic power. He kept swinging as he began to make his way back towards the hill. “Boomer acknowledges Raven is bugging out.” He began to fire his remaining grenades in a barrage to cover his retreat. The explosions cleared a path for him as he began to sprint back up the hill towards the Land Rover. He could hear gunfire and explosions behind him.

Tahlia was moving smoothly from target to target. She had a target rich environment but she still made sure every shot counted. She heard Samantha order the retreat. She just kept firing. She noticed when Javi stopped firing the heavy machine guns. Maybe he had run out of ammo. She was startled when she felt his arm going around her waist. She growled at him “Oi what do you think your doing?”

Javi looked up at her startled a little as he was working on steadying with an arm around her waist. “I am rigging you up with a harness to help support you. So you can continue to fire if I have to move the Land Rover.”

Tahlia blushed and nodded, working him as he rigged a makeshift harness to hold her tight to the roll bar in a standing position. She continued to take shots as those chasing Chuck. It was awkward and uncomfortable but she was grateful he had thought about it.

Javi worked with gear that was already in the Land Rover. He had taken a rappelling harness and used his leather belt and loading straps to secure it and her to the roll bar.

Tahlia blushed a little as she looked at the surly mechanic “Thank you Javi.”

He just nodded before looking out over the battlefield. His eyes widened at the destruction that Chuck had left behind him. Artemis soldiers were falling behind him as he moved faster towards them. He saw a group of four exos take off from the regular troops in pursuit. “Chuck is coming in hot with exos on his tail.”

Samantha assessed the battlefield. She had managed to take out a few troop carriers before the gap left behind by the gunships had been filled with more. She got unlucky as one of the new gunships managed to damage the drone’s engine before she managed to put some high caliber rounds into the rotor taking the helicopter out of the air. The drone was not responding as well and had lost maneuverability. The drone was going down and there was nothing she could do about it. She grinned at the thought that she could guide it down. She knew just the target as she saw the sub launch another missile towards some of the outbuildings on the base. Samantha fought to keep the drone in the air helping it glide in a downward descent. She aimed for the sub. She managed to keep the drone on target as the large unmanned craft hit the tower of the submarine in a massive explosion of fire and crunching metal. Smoke poured out of the damaged submarine as it began to take on water and sink. Samantha switched back over to cameras in her suit. She got a good grasp of what their immediate situation was. She grabbed her sniper rifle and climbed over the seat to stand next to Tahlia. She began to help her cover Chuck’s retreat. Between the two of them, they managed to take down the exos. Samantha told Javi. “Get ready to get us moving as soon as Chuck is in the vehicle.”

Samantha kept taking shots of opportunity. It was easier to act than to think right now. She would stay hyper-focused until they were out of here. She would just switch what she was focusing on.

Chuck had to slow his momentum or he would damage the vehicle. He managed to climb in delicately without adding any destruction to his movements. He hit the top of the vehicle to let Javi know he was in. “Let's roll!”

Javi punched it and they all held on as the vehicle lurched into motion and speeded off towards the hidden airstrip.

They had managed to slow down the flood of troops coming in at the docks and beach to give their people a fighting chance to get out. There were random troops here and there, but the numbers flooding onto the island had slowed down. The ones already on the island had been met with Raven’s Squad defiance and had their numbers quickly whittled down. The break in troop movements allowed personnel the time they needed to make it to the hidden landing strip and hidden boat.

Samantha heard over the command line she thought the voice was Rafael “Chaos, support personnel are loaded and ready to go. Confirm waiting for Raven Squad.” Samantha breathed deeper knowing they had managed to give their people the time to reach the escape boat. “Chaos confirms. Raven Squad is moving to join you know. Prep the boat for departure. We will be coming in hot.”

Tahlia was grateful for the bracing. She would never had been able to keep her balance well enough to fire while Javi drove over the rough terrain without out it. She was always so self conscious about her legs and limitations. She had to admit that Samantha was struggling next to her and she had two good legs. They continued to support the Land Rovers retreat by taking out troops that spotted them on their way to the hidden airfield.

Shortly after, the Land Rover was pulling into the hidden airfield. They had taken out the few pockets of troops between them and the airfield easily. Samantha got out of the vehicle. She turned to the others. “Javi and Tahlia head to the boat. Make sure they are prepared for departure as soon as the rest of the team gets here. Chuck, you and Duke get to the boat and take charge of defending it. Give cover fire to the incoming members of Raven Squad. Protect them and get them out.” They looked at her in confusion and started to protest. Samantha turned to the hidden airfield and the experimental bird she saw there. “I am going to get that bird in the sky and provide air cover.” She looked at them all and told them “Get moving!” They seemed to break them out of whatever protests they were going to make.

Samantha put them out of her mind. She ran to the modified F35 jet and climbed up into the cockpit. “Bob, interface with the aircraft systems.” Bob’s mechanical voice told her “Initializing.” She strapped herself in and quickly began a preflight check as she began to turn the aircraft on. The jet engines rumbled to life vibrations pouring adrenaline into her system. Bob’s voice came back “Start up sequence completed. HUD updating now.” Samantha blinked as her HUD display changed to her preferred set up for flying. She hooked up her helmet to the onboard oxygen system. She tugged her harness straps to make sure they were snug. She was pleased to note the aircraft had a full tank of fuel and the weapon systems were fully loaded and ready.

“Oracle be advised Chaos is launching the hidden bird.” She switched back to team comms “Chaos is going airborne. Raven Squad, get to the ship NOW! I am going to cover your retreat. I want you out of here as soon as possible.” She heard Oracle acknowledge her notification.

She let out a squeal of delight as she let all her emotions and worries fall away as the speed and jolt of launching the jet pushed her back into the seat. The familiar feeling of gravity being defied always made her feel free as the sleek jet streaked up into the sky. She circled the island and began to lay down some cover fire for Freya and Nord to retreat. She then turned her attention to the incoming gun ships. Now that submarine was out of the fight, enemy aircraft were the closest and most serious threat to her team. The modified F-35 handled like a dream. Samantha was in her element. She buzzed past a gunship grinning knowing he was trying to stabilize the craft from her jetwash. She swung around behind him. They tried evasive maneuvers but she had fired and was pulling up and over him as the craft exploded as her missile hit. She cleared the debris zone and swung around and began to hunt Artemis’ air assets systematically destroying them one after another. Her dominance in the sky was unchecked until Artemis sent in their own jets. She hoped her team was evacuating as ordered.

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Javi drove the modified Land Rover off road. He was headed for highpoint on the island inland and up the hill away from the base. They would get a good 360 view of what was going on from there. Javi had not been in the field as an operative in a long time. His role was support. He was the fix it and made it work vehicle guy. He knew they were facing a tough fight. He would do his part to help everyone get out safely. He could handle himself in a fight. He was not a special operator like Chuck or a sniper like Tahlia but he had worked inside the cartels. He was tough and knew how to duck when the bullets were flying. He had to admit that running into a fight with Raven Squad had a very different feel for him. He actually trusted them to back him up and not shoot him in the back. He whooped with glee as the Land Rover bounced as it went over a small boulder. The Land Rover roared up over the top of the hill and came to a rest rocking on the top. He looked over at Samantha “Ok boss now what?”

Chuck bent his knees and tightened his hands around the roll bar he was hanging onto. He could take the bumps and rolls better that way. He was moving with the vehicle. Duke had laid down in a tight ball in the floorboard in the back seat. His poor dog was doing his best to keep himself from being thrown around too much. Chuck was already scanning the forces he could see. It was not good. He could see that their docks had already been overrun. Artemis troops were hitting the shore in Exos in fireteam squads of 4.There heavily armored troops waiting to offload while the exos went unchallenged to create a beachhead. The guards that had been duty hadn’t been enough to stop such overwhelming numbers and force. He noticed the SAM launchers were active and causing some havoc with the incoming helicopters. He was scanning the area around the dock when he did a double take as a submarine surfaced off shore. “Shit!” He cursed under his breath. He spoke into his coms since he had his helmet on. He was using the optics built into his suit and its magnification to check the battlefield. “Chaos, we have a submarine off shore by the docks as well which have been overrun already. Artemis has the beach and docks.”

Samantha knew she would have time to fall apart later. She knew that base personnel had received the order to evacuate to the RV point in the emergency evacuation plan. She had BOB pull live satellite footage from Oracle so she could see what was happening. She was relieved to see the first of the support personnel were close to reaching the hidden evacuation boats. They were well hidden. Artemis seemed to think they only needed overwhelming force in a shock and awe campaign. They were all coming in from what would be the easiest and typical approaches to the island, from the location of the docks and mainland New Zealand.

Her attention was returned to the dock area as Chuck told her about the submarine. Losing people made her angry. She called into the coms “Raven Squad, I estimate our people need about 10 minutes to fully evacuate. Let’s buy them the time they need. Fire at will on targets of opportunity with extreme prejudice.” Samantha looked back at Tahlia “Tahlia use your gun to provide overwatch. Chuck I want you to mop up the docks and if you can target the sub. Javi get on the M2 Browning and give Chuck a hand.”

Samantha focused on her HUD and used the interactive haptic features in her armor’s gloves to interact with her laptop. She launched the drone caches that she had programmed around the island. She programmed the larger ones to target the incoming aircraft. She then took control of a large drone that she could remote pilot. It launched off the hidden airfield. It was spotted quickly by the enemy aircraft. She had better mobility than they did and had better dogfighting skills. She got a few missiles launched towards the submarine. She strafed fire on the troops on the beach as she joined the fight leaving chaos and destruction in her wake.

Tahlia stood up and braced her rifle along the roof. She got as comfortable and braced as well as she could. She began targeting heads along the beach. She began to fire smoothly, reloading and moving from target to target.

Chuck told Duke to stay. He was going into the thick of it and knew his armor wouldn’t hold up to this kind of firepower. He ran to the edge of the hill. He had pulled everything he could carry and put it in the Land Rover. He put the rocket launcher up to his shoulder and began to fire down at the troops on the beach. Behind him Javi began to let loose with the heavy guns mounted to the back of the Land Rover. He fired the short range missiles from his shoulders at the sub. He wasn’t sure if they had the range for it but his AI did the targeting for him. He kept reloading and firing at any exo he saw moving.

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Kaitiaki HQ, New Zealand

---

Chuck was grateful to be back on base. While he had enjoyed the mass destruction assignment that was the last op, the travel time to and from the base was killer. Duke was not very fond of helicopters, they were very loud. Chuck didn’t like leaving anyone behind. It grated on his sense of honor to let Jaguar find his own way home. He knew that Raven Squad had its own playbook and that it was different from what he was used to. It didn’t feel right to him. He felt he should have helped haul Jaguar off the island. He would have questioned the decision more if Tahlia had not been so supportive of Jaguar taking off on his own. Chuck’s armor had come through the operation like a champ. It had needed some minor repairs. His armor was already back in the armory waiting for its latest overhaul.

Chuck was feeling antsy. He and Duke had taken it easy when they had gotten back late yesterday. He was ready to get outside after being cooped up on a boat with Tiny Nord. He pulled on some jogging shorts, a tank top, and sneakers. He whistled for Duke who was watching him from the middle of the made bed. Duke came bounding over to him. Chuck laughed as he could tell Duke was excited sensing they were going for a run. He rubbed behind his ears playfully as he asked him “Do you want to go for a run?” Duke barked and wiggled his whole body, turning in a circle with his excitement. Chuck laughed and patted him on the head. “Alright buddy, let’s go for a run!” Chuck was feeling the need to push his body. He stretched out his legs and warmed up his muscles. He then opened the door and let Duke out. He then took off at a jog. He jogged until he had left the last guard check in behind.

He then began to slowly push his speed up. Duke kept pace with him as they took a track recommended by Skye. They ran the perimeter of the island. It was a long route but then Chuck had very long legs. He needed a good cardio workout and Duke always enjoyed a good run. One of things he loved about this new job was the scenery. He loved being outside. The island was beautiful and quiet since the only people on it were Raven Squad. He kept to a moderate pace as his long legs ate up the miles quickly. Chuck soaked up the serenity of being out in nature alone with his dog. Moments like this were where he found peace in life. He found the beauty in nature on his run, soaking it in like a sponge. He had worked up a good sweat by the time he had gotten back to base.

He jogged until he reached the main base building. He then slowed to a walk. He made his way into the heavy gym. He pulled a bowl for Duke out of his locker. He gave his canine partner some water before chugging some for himself. Then he refilled his water bottle before putting Duke’s bowl away. He had heard the heavy gym was equipped to handle him. He was hoping that was true. The gym at his last posting worked for the regular troops but he had broken the floor and bent bars trying to get a good workout. He had to get creative to keep his muscle tone. He entered the heavy gym. He gave Duke an at ease hand sign. Duke sprawled out on a gym mat nearby and watched Chuck as he approached the first weight station.

He grinned as he saw the heavy duty shock absorption flooring under the heavy lift station. He noticed the heavier reinforced bar for deadlifting with extra long end caps so he could load extra weight and grinned. He also noticed a hard welded bar cage connected to a steel cable with a pulley with hand grips contraption where you could just pile in rock or the weight rings. He decided to test the bar first by putting one hundred pounds on each end. He used the bar to do arm curls. He was pleased to note the bar didn’t bend or flex under the initial weight. Chuck began to slowly increase the weight as he worked different arm and shoulder groupings. Chuck was sweating profusely once more. He pulled off his tank top and used it as a towel to wipe off the sweat. His abs glistened and rippled as he moved from one heavy piece of equipment to the next.

Someone had rigged a simple teeter totter type of leg press. There was a chair welded into a heavy steel bracket with counter balance weights on it and bolted to the floor. There was a place for him to put his feet to push with rubber grips. When he pushed the pedals forward it lifted the bar with a foot long solid peg on it with a threaded bolt end cap that held the standard gym weights on. The difference was this machine was reinforced and counter balanced to handle much heavier weights than standard gym equipment. Chuck had never been in a gym that catered to someone of his strength and size before. He was finding that he was able to push his body and learn limits that he hadn't been able to do before. Chuck was wrapping up his leg routine. He wandered over to the large open area covered in gym mats. He began a kata. He could use a good sparring partner. Where was that Nord when he wanted someone to pit his skills against?

---

The Reunion Party

Chuck had showered and changed after his workout earlier. He had given Duke a bath and a good brushing. He had needed some extra grooming after their run earlier. Duke enjoyed the extra attention he had received and was relaxed as he padded along at Chuck’s side. He had fed Duke before they left the room. Chuck had pulled on jeans, a t-shirt with a beer logo, and his combat boots. He normally would wear a hat but he was indoors and his momma had beat basic manners into him. His hair was cut short and his beard and mustache were trimmed neatly along his jawline and lip. His light blue eyes stood out in his tanned face. He had made his way to the recreation room where he was told that the team was meeting. Duke was a constant warm presence at his side.

Chuck stepped into the room and noted the sitting arrangements. He took a seat at the table with Duke sitting next to him at attention. Duke’s eyes seemed to drift from person to person as something they did drew his attention. He lazily scratched Duke’s ears as he waited for the meeting to start. Chuck listened to Skye’s report with a slight frown. He would catch her alone later and get caught up on the latest op information. He had joined the team last minute and was not privy to their previous ops so he didn’t understand the significance of what Skye was telling the team. He accepted the whiskey and tapped Skye's glass with a hearty "Cheers". He casually threw it back saluting Skye as he did so. Damn that was good whiskey! He wanted a beer and a steak though. That would round out his day nicely. Chuck understood that Skye was hiding a lot under that facade. Chuck had led his own team until recently and he understood that Skye was hiding some things to show what her team expected to see. He would corner her later and see if she would talk to him. He knew what it was like to have that responsibility and not want your team to see your weaknesses. Sometimes even the leader needed someone to talk to. His eyes glanced around the room to check out other members he had met but didn’t really know very well yet.