Clusterfrag

Thoryne's head swims in a thick, syrupy fog, and for a moment the erstwhile seaman feels at peace. He's back aboard the Santiago María on a heading slow to port, trundling with their engines just above idle, pushing through a fog bank so dense that it's almost warm to the touch. The surf gently laps at the sides of the vessel as a fog horn tolls its morose tune nearby but unseen. The ocean air plays at his rugged cheeks, chapped and burned from the weeks at sea.

Footfalls. A clamor. Gasps, straining.

Thoryne is pulled back from the faint neurotoxin daze, no worse for the wear, to see the kid dangling from the cable a few meters overhead. "Frag this," he grumbles, his words bubbling out of his considerable throat like magma, heavy and elemental. The troll raises his AK and trains its barrel at the upper frame of the open doorway between Cell Block C and the elevator shaft, Mouse's message trailing across his feed as he steadies the weapon. A rueful grin half-spreads across his lips. "Nuts." The word escapes him in a growl, his teeth gnashed.

THOOMP!

It's an altogether playful sound for a grenade to make as it bounds out the door and down the front steps on its way to make some new friends.

Mouse quickly claims an additional two marks on each icon. After securing full access to the firearms, she sends a command to the guns to eject their magazines.

Thoryne's underbarrel-fired grenade sails up to the top of the shaft, where the airburst detonator works its magic. There's a painfully loud bang, which reverberates throughout the enclosed space. A blossom of chaff burns in the air like a mini-firework and a blinding flash encompasses the immediate vicinity.

Wind's feed goes blank as the ocular sensor is overloaded and Axel waits for the camera to reboot. Likewise, Echo's feed (which had been gaining clarity steadily) fills with jumbled artifacts.

Yung, hanging close to the blast, grimaces at the sudden onslaught of light. His proximity is not enough to blind him, but his vision fills with lumpy afterimages as his retinas are over-saturated. He dangles by the cable, blinking rapidly.

The elevator continues to climb as surprised shouts in Japanese can be heard from above.

"Kuso!" "I can't see!"

His skin burns, eyes watering and itching with irritation; but those are minor nuisances compared to the dread of eternal embarrassment from his sloppy footwork. A maneuver only half saved from complete disaster, had he failed to miraculously catch the cable. Its a good thing too, if he missed and fell he might have died from shame on the spot.

Nonetheless, he assures himself there is nowhere to go but up in the eyes of his crew mates. A juvenile fire ignited within, fueled by the impetuousness of youth.

As Yung gains a comfortable grip and slows his momentum, he adjusts his mask back to it's normal position. Then begins to climb the cable as the elevator continues the ascent.

(( Start climbing ))

Axel had been so focused on the open doorway that his first indication that anything was coming came not from his eyes, but from a jolt of electric fire shooting through his meatspace brain several meters below him. The disembodied sensation threatens to tear down the sometimes delicate artifice of inhabiting another body. Meat and metal screaming together, blind in an empty void.

Axel bolts upright on the floor, yanking the datajack out of the base of his skull before dropping it and shaking his hand. "FRAG ME!" He gingerly grabs the cable from further down, away from the connector where it's not as hot. He begins to blow on the connector, cooling it off. With a thought, he recalls Wind, manually guiding it like the hobbyists of old, with their remote controlled helicopters and airplanes, while its sensors reboot. He taps the connector gingerly, tapping lightly at first, and finally gripping it once he's determined that it's cooled back down.

He shoots an anguished look at Thoryne. "Give me a heads up next time, eh, chummer? Ears don't work when I'm under, but comms do." He slips the cable, now returned to its Goldilocks state back into the base of his skull. Once again, the world shrinks to a point, and he reemerges as Whirlwind. He takes the drone back to the position below the doorway.

"Sorry 'bout that, chum." Thoryne offers Axel a prostrating nod.

Yung steadily climbs the elevator cable, gaining another four meters. He's now approximately twelve meters from the opening into the cell block. Something is partially occluding the light that spills into the shaft, creating a humanoid shadow that falls across the far wall. From his current position, Yung has no angle but is also himself safely hidden from view.

He can see Wind hovering despondently above his head, and tries to picture Axel inside the small mechanical form. Yung then realizes that Axel is technically both above and below him, which makes his head spin.

Even Mouse, amidst the chaos of their own grenade volley and disconnected from her meatspace body, can’t hide her smile from Thoryne so readily running with her preteen-level-humor. << To be precise, we have a Decker Exploiting Enemy Zealots’ Networks Using Technological Superiority. >> As she does, she flicks her digital hand, sending one last mote of light floating toward the last gun.

The wizened face of the disguised persona cracks a sharp toothed smile as he balls up his fist, then splays out its fingers, revealing a set of beastial claws atop its bony fingers. Strings of light seem to almost tether each of the icons to the outstretched hand, as feeds of glittering data stream from the smartguns into the allies' feeds. << Now let's see if Saito's finest can handle D.E.E.Z. N.U.T.S. >>

(( Attempting one last HotF against the last untouched icon (just a regular roll, since I only need the one MARK)
> Then Snoop - since Smartguns have internal cameras, let's peek at what's on their feeds, just in case any of them are pointed at anything helpful, like the elevator doors. ))

A gruff Nipponese voice scratches across Whirlwind's audio sensor. "Muda daiyo."

The comment is followed by a metallic sound, as a small canister bounces off of the shaft wall opposite the open doorway and tumbles downward.

Perhaps it's the nerves, but Mouse's latest digital attack on the untouched icon is met with tough resistance. The device's firewall seems to repel every attack she throws at it. She silently curses a blue streak, only to stop abruptly as she finally manages to secure a mark.

If Axel had a mouth, it would be twisted up in a feral grin. The drone's rotors feather away from the air, the motors spinning at top speed while not producing any lift. The Axel/Whirlwind chimera drops like a stone for a couple meters, just enough for the grenade's rebound to place it directly above the carapace. NOW

The rotors rotate back into position, biting into the wind. The combination of the sudden grip on the air, along with the motors already running at full RPM allows Axel to pop up like a cork with g-forces that would incapacitate a biological pilot. There's a sharp pain that translates as being somewhere between his shoulder blades, but that he recognizes as a solid hit on the grenade with the broad top of the drone. He tilts forward during the ascent, performing his best impression of the world's most expensive ping-pong paddle.

As he pops up from below the threshold, his voice booms from the drone, "HEY, YOU DROPPED THIS!" The rotors feather again, and Axel/Whirlwind drop back out of sight, the drone's speaker conveying Axel's giggles as it descends the shaft, and what he hopes are the sounds of a neurostun grenade clinking at the soldiers' feet.

(( Gonna give them their thing back! Push. The. Limit, please ))

PONK. Whirlwind's blink-and-you'll-miss-it maneuver is executed in less than half a second. As the drone caroms the grenade, Axel catches an upside down view of a Kuroikaze standing just past the threshold of the elevator doors. Fortunately, the Nipponese super solider seems to have just finished lobbing the grenade, as their hands are empty. Likewise, their katana is sheathed and Axel doesn't see a weapon in the split second view. Further in the cell block, three men in fatigues seem to be stumbling blindly about.

At the apex of the maneuver, Whirlwind's audio senor encounters a harsh sibilating. It seems the neurostun grenade had been primed earlier and is already active. The gas-spewing projectile sails back into the cell block. Whirlwind's rotors quit and the drone falls back into the safety of the shaft, before resuming to keep the little fellow afloat.

The elevator gains another few meters, putting it at about fifteen meters from the top of the shaft.

As Axel’s return volley sends the grenade flying majestically toward its source, Mouse underscores the glorious scene with a digital: ♩ 'HAAAALELUJAH!' ♫ Even her persona, despite having its hands full with the last of the smartguns, can’t help but pause its intrusion attempts to witness the full glory of the feed, and offer an appreciative << Yabai! >>

With imminent death staved off for another few seconds, and the elevator crawling upward at a mercifully predictable pace, she returns to her work: rewiring the last of the guns, so she can get her sleepy hoop out of hotsim. ‘Ne-ne-nezumi no kintama wa…’ As she works her exploits, she can’t resist a little crude, childish sing-song. ‘Kuroikaze mo nai no ni bu-ra bura!’

(( In the interest of just consolidating the remainder of the matrix stuff, this is the intended flow of action. (Since the elevator's rising super slowly, I figure this should be doable by the time it gets close to the top.)
> HoTF to put the last two marks on the remaining smartgun
> Use the 3 marks to GIGO its commands so all three guns match (Eject clip on fire command)
> Reboot deck
> Exit into AR/stand up
> Just start maintaining I-Am-The-Firewall indefinitely, and hopefully not get stabbed ))

With the immediate threat of the neurostun grenade neutralized by Whirlwind, Yung sighs a breath of relief. Looking up it becomes clear that he is quickly approaching the top of the shaft, as well as exposure to anyone who might be preparing to shoot through the elevator doors. He begins descending rapidly back down the cable, returning to join his crewmates riding in the elevator car.

(( If it's possible, I'd like to stay kind of perched at the top of the carriage along a crossbar or on the corner, if I can do so without being crushed. Crouching or laying out flat along some kind of support on the top of the elevator. Also not sure if I can pre-emptively plan for Acrobatic Defender, basically just anticipating getting shot at. ))

Taipan closes his eyes, shutting down all attention to his senses until all that's left is what he hears.

(( Would like to get a perception check on Taipan's fancy hearing enhancement on what he hears as the elevator approaches the top of the shaft ))

The elevator is now bathed in the light spilling from the open doorway. Yung, gripping the cable four meters above the carriage, is now less than a meter from the doorway. It will only be a few more seconds until the carriage moves into position.

Through Echo, Axel can see that the neurostun gas is rapidly dissipating. The three guards lay motionless on the floor-- presumably unconscious. Several prisoners that were unlucky enough to be caged nearby also seem to be unconscious. The Kuroikaze seems none the worse for wear, poised near the doorway with a hand on their katana hilt.

Taipan's augmented hearing corroborates the feed... there's no sign of resistance in cell block C besides the lone Kuroikaze.

Mouse blinks as she returns to meat-space, having successfully performed her hacks and sent her commands. Though there's no residual pain from the neurostun, a thin layer of perspiration covers her body.

His work done for now, Axel drops out of hotsim, his vision returning to his no-more-natural eyes. He draws the drones in, Wind and Whirlwind hovering just above the team's heads on either side. Doug sits front and center. Seeing the feed from Echo, Axel puts away the Narcoject One, and pulls out the Morrisey Alta. No innocents here, at least not right away.

Mouse pushes herself to her feet, wiping her nose with one sleeve in an overly practiced manner. Yes, everything she's accomplished in hotsim thus far has since been rendered entirely moot. Of course, given that it's because the relevant mooks have since been hoisted by their own neurostun petard, it's hardly a loss.

Besides, she has her own survival, and more importantly, that of her teammates, to worry about. She runs her hands through her pinned up hair, as much to center herself as to ensure that her taped back ears are still safely tucked beneath, in spite of her panic attacks and a few bouts of unconsciousness. Her eyes drift shut, as she focuses both cognitive and electronic processing on the threat above.

(( I Am the Firewall- just starting it now so the bonuses will be in place whenever initiative starts? Applying to everyone but Reiya and Mick. ))

Yung drops down, landing neatly. The team collects themselves within the carriage, repositioning and preparing for a skirmish. Darkness recedes as the carriage crawls lethargically closer to the lit opening above. Ten meters to go.

Nine. Eight. Seven.

Abruptly, a sharp pop echoes throughout the elevator shaft. The carriage lurches violently, slamming into the earthen wall. Each runner stumbles, struggling to maintain their balance. Only Axel has an inkling what just transpired: mere moments before, the Kuroikaze (visible in Echo's feed) made a blurred motion visible only for a single frame. Something small but immensely heavy crashes against the crossmember at the top of the carriage, flails around like a dying serpent, and is dragged down between carriage and shaft wall, showering the team with sparks. Axel blinks upwards, observing only three elevator cables remaining.

The elevator is still climbing, but at a reduced speed. The now off-kilter container is dragging a ferrosteel corner against the shaft, sending a barrage of debris upward.

Reiya had tensed, ready for action, and was somehow utterly stunned by the sharp sound from the elevator shaft. She looks up in time to see sparks rain down. The shaman closes her eyes and shakes her head, suddenly furious. "Oh, fuck off," she mutters, casting a door-shaped barrier over the open door she can just make out above.

(( Cast Physical Barrier at Force 5. ))

Light spills from Reiya's outstretched hands, weaving itself into a semi-transparent, golden barricade. The barrier thrums with magical energy, managing to completely seal the elevator shaft doorway.

A slight throbbing assails Reiya. The stress of the powerful spell makes her head swim. Despite the overall soreness, she's still on her feet and feeling relatively capable.

Through Echo's feed, the team watches the Kuroikaze release the hilt of their katana and take a few steps back. It's clear that Reiya's barrier has inspired the commando to re-evaluate their tactics.

The elevator continues to grind against the wall, making a lethargic ascent. A few seconds later, the team finds themselves looking out through the shimmering barrier at the interior of cell block C. The Kuroikaze has positioned themselves behind a cage, presumably awaiting the team's next move.

The team's shared comm channel crackles. Zal's usually measured voice is tainted with a hint of panic.

<< Do you copy? What's the situation? >>

Meanwhile, the Kuroikaze prowls behind a cage, like an apex predator testing its prey.

The HUD paints the Kuroikaze in a swath of red, highlighting a thousand different vectors of approach that the soldier could take, each representing a thousand different multiverses in which he cuts down Mouse, and her team, in a flash of gore.

The incoming signal is a welcome distraction- even if it means she has to scramble to rephrase her old messages that had undoubtedly been swallowed by the underground noise. << Loud and clear– or at least, you are now anyway. We had to make a sudden detour through that underground space Baek had called out. We’ve only just regained connectivity. >>

She forces herself to stop staring at the prowling Kuroikaze, if only long enough to peer out toward the cells before them, furrowing her brow as she scans the faces for any familiarity. << We’ve made it to C Block, all in one piece. Just one last piece of trash to clear out before we spring De Leon. >> She swallows, casting Reiya, and the others, a nod of tenuous trust. The decker has never actually witnessed the team take down a Kuroikaze, but if they’ve done so once before, then surely they will again. She has no choice but to believe in them.

Axel's knuckles are white around the grip of the Alta. His eyes track the Kurokaze as he paces around the cages, eying the team threateningly. Showboater.

As the seconds tick on, the white-hot fear of imminent violence fades into a merely churning cauldron of unease. Axel dares to take his eyes off the threat, taking in the room, the cages, and the unconscious forms on the ground. His attention turns back to the feed from Echo, showing a completely different view of the room and their quarry. He starts taking in the finer details, with a particular focus on anything small, hard, and not bolted down.

(( Looking around the room for anything small that would make a lot of noise if it fell on the floor, e.g. a coffee mug, keys on a hook, etc. ))

His Ares waits, slowly tapping against the side of his thigh, restless in anticipation of the moment when both predators will face off to determine who is the alpha. However, given the momentary pause in mounting tension, Yung is unable to avoid distracting himself from the situation.

He looks to the doctor, relieved that he remembered to set the wheel brake before the elevator began the slow ascent. He can’t help but re-engage the fugue figure that has been established as a temporary artifact of this strange reality. "Drek, Doc, you okay?" He says, suddenly realizing that a bout of neurotoxin on the already ailing doctor might not have done wonders for his health.

He kneels down next to the doctor, doing his best to maintain eye contact with the enemy beyond the barrier. Yung reaches out with his free hand, attempting to search for a pulse or a heartbeat of some kind.

(( Not really a medicine check or what not, just trying to see if he’s still alive, whatever you wanna do ))

Mick remains crouched, waiting, poised to explode forward and strike.

The shaman winces at the ache in her head, hoping this doesn't bode ill for further spellcasting. She's all right, though. "Tell me when you want me to drop the barrier," she says quietly. "I can't hit him with a manaball if he's too close to the cages; could take out the people in them. Until we know where the prisoner we want is, at least."

Yung's fingertips find a pulse, but it's so faint that he has to check three times. While not a doctor, Yung frowns at the prolonged intervals between heartbeats. The doctor is alive, but for how long?

From Axel's position inside the elevator, the view is all cages. He spies a few prisoners in taupe uniforms, some of which are cowering underneath their beds while a few others writhe in agony-- likely victims of the neurostun grenade. Frustrated, he glances at Echo's feed.

From Echo's point of view, Axel can plainly see the catwalk directly above them that houses the elevator's machinery. Although the foreground is obscured by the angle, there do seem to be some crates, tables and equipment racks on the walls along the perimeter of the raised portion of the catwalk.

Mick eyes the prisoner closest to the Kuroikaze when suddenly they remember their briefing. Frantically, the ork pulls up their feed and compares the visible prisoners to the reference photo.

Axel's focus shifts back to Echo's AR feed. He furrows his brow in frustration. Somehow, this cell block is immaculate, without a single loose metallic or glass object to be found, except for a few large, heavy objects directly above the elevator, where they'd do the least amount of good, even if they were small enough for the diminutive drone to create a distraction with.

<< Okay, I think I found where all the missing maintenance crew from cellblock A were spending all their time. No chance of a distraction. So should we just light this candle? >>

(( Mostly don't want to tie down the action with a bunch of back-and-forth repositioning of Echo to find a single object to distract the guard with, or we'll be here for a while! ))

Mick's gaze sweeps over the cages visible from their position. Most of the prisoners that they can see are partially obscured by cots, laying flat or cowering away from the adept. Still, Mick's eyes are sharp-- a necessary advantage required by the harsh realities of urban survival. On the right side, they spy a man facing away, crouching behind a cot. Although Mick cannot make out the man's face, there are other identifying traits to compare: complexion, bone structure, a touch of gray in the bear. All of the indicators match. Mick is absolutely positive that the man is Luis DeLeon.

Mick sweeps their eyes lazily, eager not to show any sign of their interest in De Leon in particular. << You're clear, Reiya. Fry the fucker. >>

Reiya doesn’t waste a moment, dropping the barrier she’s been holding and conjuring a manaball instead. She directs it just over the kurokaze’s head, hoping to maximize damage with a headshot while lessening the chances of killing one of the poor sods in the cages.

(( Cast Manaball at Force 4 ))

The semi-transparent barrier fades into the ether. Violet sparks of astral energy crackle around Reiya, generating a static field that lifts her hair. A ball of seething energy appears above Kaminari's head, growing rapidly and ultimately encompassing the top half of the commando. Otherworldly flames lick at the Kuroikaze's armor, boiling the flesh within. Though Reiya scores a hit, the astral flames only do minor damage.

The Kuroikaze continues to lurk behind the cage, seemingly waiting for the rest of the team to make a move.

Despite his former bravado, Axel has to swallow his heart back into his chest as the last layer of safety between the team and their target scatters to the wind like a dandelion. Axel squares his shoulders, and brings the Alta to bear, tracking the man as he paces. The moment stretches, until Axel realizes that the Kurokaze is not charging the group. He shrugs his shoulders.

"That's fine, we can kill you over there, too." He says casually, before finishing with the magic words: "kids, sic balls."

As the statement leaves his mouth, Axel squeezes the trigger.

(( Called shot: going for a gap in the armor. Drones are now ready to party as well. ))