Clusterfrag

Stephen

Invisible, icy fingers caress Taipan's spine at the decker's interpretation of the scene, though he takes great care not to allow the unease to crest his air of composure -- save for the hairs standing to attention at the back of his neck. He nods in response to the troll, "Thanks, big man. Hop...

Stephen

Furrows deepen across Taipan's brow as Yung's message scrolls upward in his AR feed. << Copy, >> he DMs in response. Frowning, he tucks the nameplate in a thigh pocket. The frag is Zodiac? He curses under his breath as he backtracks down the hallway, padding softly in the direction of the glow from ...

Stephen

The team's verbal exchange fades to muted syllables as the processing unit collects the return volley of ultrasonic data. He plucks the apparently singular bit of useful data from the barrage, murmuring his shoulder, "Not registering movement in any of these rooms." He peers suspiciously a...

Stephen

Inaudible except to his own enhanced hearing, tiny servos whir to expand the apertures of Taipan's irises, compensating for the darkness and bathing the facility in renewed if muted light. "Not you, omae. They know we're here. And it looks like there's only one way out so they'll know where we'...

Stephen

"I think you might be right," Taipan replies simply. "Odd that they'd take such care here while stacking nerve agent in the nap room. Perhaps those were empties..." He strides cautiously toward the door, checking the path for any sign of dormant security. Upon nearing the door, ...

Stephen

Taipan's pulse quickens once gain as the predictable tempo of battle reasserts itself. He tags the emergency lockdown lever with an ARO on his team's PAN and shouts, << Axel, make friends later. Throw that lever, now! >> In response to Yung, the old soldier stands, flicking the point of his sword to...

Stephen

"Kuso," Taipan spits under his breath as the faint inflections of his native Nipponese drift through the smoke. << We've got company approaching outside! Mick, get that door back open. The rest of you, inside quickly! >> The bright treble of ripping Velcro carries over the voice channel a...

Stephen

Taipan's heartbeat decelerates a fraction as the AR-tagged threats wink out in rapid succession. He makes a mental note to thank Mouse later for the flood of tactical intelligence amid the literal fog of war. Leveling the point of the wet blade at the bridge of the pleading guard's nose, he growls i...

Stephen

Taipan leaps forward into the fray, following the swirling eddies of smoke that mark Mick's passage just seconds prior. The acrid smoke stings his eyes as he lurches forward, and he idly wonders why Shiawase hadn't edited out that particular sensation in their line of cybereyes. Probably for that na...

Stephen

As his eyes scan the relief of the embossed lettering on the gas cylinders, Taipan's muscles freeze momentarily as neurons refuse to fire despite the augmented bandwidth of his central nervous system. << Mouse... that comment you made before about aerosol delivery... we've got cylinders of Ares nerv...

Stephen

A quiet squish echoes off the stone walls as Taipan's boot treads softly down into a puddle of water. He stops for a moment, absorbing every sound as he scans for signs of danger. Taipan advances toward the trap door, glancing up at Yung's ARO to ensure they're headed in the right direction. On his ...

Stephen

Taipan's face twists in a wry grin at Mick's jibe, while a far recessed part of his mind tries to imagine what life would be like if he'd instead walked the path of an HVAC technician -- it sounds easier, if slightly boring. Fewer thrills, yet fewer regrets. Not a soul treads on green grass. Not one...

Stephen

"Seems clear. Let's see how deep this rabbit hole goes." Taipan produces a crowbar and jams its head between the cliff face and the vent, setting to work on loosening one rivet after another. << Preparing for entry down below B. Report from topside and comms bunker teams? >>

Stephen

Taipan glances down at the pale dust covering the ork's scarred fists. "Hope you saved some of that for the enemy," he says with only the trace of a grin, though in truth, he has no doubt about it. Taipan presses an ear to the vent, straining to filter out the sounds of the wind, the ocean...

Stephen

Taipan gazes down at Mick, eyes widening in deepening concern as the violent display seems to become progressively more untethered from reason -- an event which bears a tinge of familiarity for the old soldier even in the brief stretch of their acquaintance. Respect duels with the concern in Taipan'...

Stephen

Taipan's gaze shifts between Mick, Yung, and Mouse before settling back on the cavity below, now painted more clearly by Axel's AROs. "Yung speaks sense in that we'll need to start a more -- conventional -- entry now if we hope to brute force it before the QRF is alerted... but it would be a da...

Stephen

Taipan waves a hand forward after a slight pause, waving the silent crew into the gully alongside the cell block before signaling a halt. << Back in a moment. >> He traverses the gully quietly, pausing every now and again at the intersections where the gully appears to penetrate the cliff to send ou...

Stephen

Taipan's eyes clear as he refocuses on his surroundings. He might have bristled at Mouse's implication about his national origin if, of course, its relevance hadn't been made obsolete by his corporate allegiance. << Yeah I've read that one. Rainbow Shiva or something? >> A soft click sounds as Taipa...

Stephen

Taipan raises a fist to signal a momentary halt as the notification from Baek's file transmission pops into his AR feed. He takes a knee and expands the image file, absorbing the details as he listens to Baek's assessment. << Thanks, >> Taipan replies. << Good intel. >> Taipan glances over his shoul...

Stephen

Taipan advances, his gaze methodically sweeping side to side over the readied rifle's top rail. << With the clock ticking, I expect this will get loud before long, and despite our rocky start I'd prefer to be together when that happens. Baek, get us an image of that blueprint, would ya? Axel, what c...

Stephen

Taipan cocks an eyebrow at the unexpected amount of sense contained in Yung's message. << Yung is right. We can't stage a full prison break here. If we did, Saito's men are more than likely to shoot on sight, whether they're armed or not. Most likely scenario is that it gets all of them -- and all o...

Stephen

"Quiet," Taipan hisses softly through clenched teeth, glancing back at Yung and Mouse. "You can bet the Kuroikaze are 'wared up enough to hear a fart on this breeze let alone your banter." He turns back to peer around the forward corner of the cell block. Every fiber of Taipan's...

Stephen

An subtle sneer sneaks onto Taipan's face as the guard's griping about his sleeping quarters drifts over the team's hiding place. Well, good to know they aren't all as hardened as our friends aboard the ship. He paints the guards' approximate circuit on the tactical map in his AR feed as he mulls th...

Stephen

The breath is expelled from Taipan's lungs, in part a sigh of relief at the absence of thermite on the breeze. << They're packing heat, but not likely Kuroikaze . >> His face twists in frustration once again as he checks the mission time in his AR feed. << I'd prefer to keep this lid on, but if they...

Stephen

A low, involuntary growl emits from Taipan's throat as the twin blips illuminate in his image feed. << Mick, two incoming on course to cut between us. We'll keep weapons cold unless necessary. >> Nodding his head up the hill, he leads the group upward to hunker down outside the camera's field of vie...

Stephen

Nice work, Taipan thinks in response to the ork's warning, silently noting to himself to more carefully consider their tactical prowess in the future. << Roger. No contact, but we've got surveillance to bypass. Working on it. >> Taipan watches as the crow settles itself in front of the camera, conv...

Stephen

A small smirk plays at Taipan's face in a rare moment of taking Yung's cocky, grandiose apathy in stride. "When I 'lose my chill,' omae, you'll know it. Let's move."

Stephen

Taipan watches the fan of glittering seawater disperse into the morning light as the body of the Kuroikaze splashes down beneath the frothing waves. He wonders how many warriors have been buried without ceremony. When my time comes, will I even get so much as this? He inclines his head slightly in r...

Stephen

Taipan pauses at the foot of the stairs, calling over his shoulder, "Making sure anywhere that's got line of sight to these smoldering bodies we're about to dump is clear and start painting any potential enemy presence for Zal's team on the approach to the comms bunker. Taipan pulls up the map ...

Stephen

Taipan nods approvingly at Axel, clapping him on the shoulder as he passes. "Nice shot," he murmurs through a barely suppressed grin. Left unsaid is a more sincere appreciation for the man's discretion with the use of deadly force in the midst of a situation in which many others would gras...

Stephen

The smell of the nearby Kuroikaze fills Taipan's nostrils as he peeks over his crate just in time to witness the matte-clad soldier pop the lid on the opposite one. Time crawls to snail's pace as electricity surges through the augmented nerve cells in his spinal cord. A bead of sweat runs slowly dow...

Stephen

A trace of perspiration springs from the palms of Taipan's hands as the ship lurches toward its new vector, suffusing the air with the familiar electricity of inexorable conflict. He grips the hilt of his blade with steady if slightly clammy offhand. Op site leader? He recalls the moniker with some ...

Stephen

Taipan stands on the deck of the M.T. Ōwatatsumi, face turned toward the sunrise. His eyes close momentarily, feeling the sun's warmth and the cool maritime breeze flirt with one another as they play across his features. For just an instant, an almost imperceptible smile creeps onto his face as the ...

Stephen

A low whistle issues from between Taipan's teeth as Zal lays bare the caliber of Saito's lackey's they're likely to encounter at the Rock, his face darkening at the mention of their high tech armor, and further at the mention of chrome. Armpits, thighs, back, chin... "Cargo hold seems as good a...

Stephen

Taipan surprises himself by smiling at Mouse's address. Only days ago, her calling him 'Ojisan' would force him to suppress a pang of annoyance or make him flush with embarrassment at how out of place he was among his colleagues, but for the first time he's aware of, it feels right. Not a slight at ...

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