"I wasn't planning on getting rid of him," Bomb shrugged, "Just wondering if you want to give the orders and be the boss, or shall I ask which way to go."

OOC: Just posting to let people know I'm not dead, I just discovered Star Wars: Battlefront yesterday and have had a hard time stopping long enough to even glance at the computer. 😛

Also, I'm starting to get confused about where everything is at on this island. I originally thought that the air base was inside the volcano, like it dominated one section near the edge. Maybe it's me just hurriedly trying to catch up with everything after the weekend, but it almost seems like the air base is now a separate entity/building/location from the volcano base itself. Not mad or irritated or anything, just would like to get a slightly more clear picture of what's going on. I feel a little guilty asking this since I didn't do a good job of describing things in Crossover Heroes recently and so I can understand how hectic things can be, just laying my cards out onto the table.

And yes, I will add some IC.

IC:
Justin found himself in single file behind Rad Blue and in front of Swifthom. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the possibility that they could be heading right into a trap, and the ever-present danger of pain and very possibly death, Justin's eyes strayed to focus on RB.

She's cute, but not my type, thought Justin as he politely refocused his attention on the corridor itself, the air beginning to get noticeably stuffier though it was cooler in this cave they were using. Cool enough to assuage his burning cheeks. I do feel bad about earlier. Camden is right, I went waaay overboard. Doesn't matter if she's an Evil Admin or not, she's a lady and I should treat her like one. And this may be the last chance I get to apologize...

Pushing worrisome thoughts out of his mind, he moved a little faster so as to be closer to Rad. "Hey, Miss Blue, sorry 'bout freaking out on you earlier," apologized Justin quietly, though loudly enough so that she could hear him hopefully.

OOC: Hope that's all right for now. Feel like I haven't checked the forum in a week!

I'll try to answer this. I think I have a grip on the enviornment.

I drew a picture, but see I don't have a scanner, so bear with my explanation Terg x_X;

We sailed to the island, got off on the beach-ran through alot of stuff, and now we are in the jungle. Let's say for craps and smirks that we are in the middle of the island. Makes life a bit easier. We are heading..north/east..underground, to an Airport Runway {"Base"}
We just PASSED the Prison Base, hence that room with the bathtub that you 4 guys discovered

When we get out from the tunnel, we'll be on the runway, and we'll be able to be all fast and steal a plane, and Fly into the Volcano-Hence the VolcanoBase

I'm suspecting that Ala Team America/X-men/Birdman {take your reference pic}, we can fly the plane into the side of the volcano, or the top, depending how TBlood envisions it.

EDIT: INSIDE Hephaestus, is a Heliport. I suppose it may be hard to fly a JET out of the Volcano, and so they use Helicopters to leave via the top. Hance why there is a heliport in the Volcanobase.

So its .. Prison Base---Underground---Airport {Base}---Volcano{Base with Heliport inside}

OOC: How'd Birdman get in there? Also, what's "silisiclastic" mean? Does that mean ceramic materials?

OOC: Cause he flies out of the mountain XD. So what if he dosen't have a plane, I was just thinking shows that have...things fly out of the side of mountians, so the Blackbard II, and Birdman came to mind really fast LOL.

And as for Silisiclastic-it mean rocks that have a moderate percentage of silica within their makeup. I ..don't even know why I used that word, to be honest, I guess reading all these geology books kinda makes me biased toward these words lol. I'll put IC later, i promise ;_;

"For a potential double-crosser, I gotta admit that Rachel's cool as anyone who makes Darkest Light look silly earns a thumbs up," she smiled to herself, "Too bad I still don't feel like totally trusting her."

Breaking her thoughts, she heard Justin speaking to her.

"Oh, it's the 'mod,'" as she tried to think of what he could've been referring to. "I haven't told him that I'm not sure about him, so that can't be it."

Giving up trying to figure it out, she shrugged her shoulders and whispered back with a tiny smile, "Don't worry about it."

OOC:

The Airport Base, since it has an Airstrip, is natural to be built outdoors and not inside the Volcanno.

It is in fact built near the base of the volcanic mountain. And that's why we want to infiltrate it and steal a jet; because the main entrance to Hephaestus Base is too high to reach with any other way. We need an aircraft...

The airstrip itself is in actuality used like a huge parking lot filled with Jets - since all FLAME aircrafts lift off verticaly like helicopters. In other words, the Airstrip is not used like a traditional aeroplane runway, though it has the same size.

Currently however, only a few jets are on the Airstrip.

Hephaestus main Entrance is high on the mountainside. It is like a huge tunnel entrance, and that entrance is in fact a heliport where Jets can land.

On a side note, Hephaestus is a fairly gigantic complex built inside the volcano.

I won't post anything IC, as i'm interested if anyone might want to post any char interaction while they move forward (it's quite a long run).

"...so... being larger then me. I was woundering, if you know... the shooting starts again. Could i hide behind you as suitable cover?" Vortex waunders around, asking any other forumer he could potentialy huddle sucessfully around a similiar question.

Cy closed his eyes as he levitated a couple inches off the ground, floating along with the group. So...someone from the fabled Sigil. Things should be a lot more interesting. I wonder if I could get a peek at those libraries when I get back to Sega City... He shook his head. Need to stay focused, man. Save the world now, learn about it later.

OOC: I'm retro-conning Justin's personalized gun, if I may. Had a talk with my brothers about using mercury-filled bullets, and we all decided that it wouldn't fit the character of someone who tries to avoid killing to use such a dangerous substance. So the Glock stays the same, except that it fires armor-piercing EMP bullets (which can fry electronic systems, but act as ordinary armor-piercing bullets when shot through a human or other living organism). I haven't actually used the gun yet in this thread, so I don't think this would create a problem.

Oh, and if anyone else wants their character to overhear Justin's story, they are free to do so.

IC:
"Hey, Justin?"

Justin looked back at Swifthom as they continued to move along. "Yeah, what's up?"

"You mentioned earlier that you had lost your world and that you were staying in the MoFo." Swifthom paused, and his dark eyes were thoughtful. "I'm just curious, how did you get here in the first place? Have you been here before?"

Justin turned back forward to keep from tripping himself up, and he slowed down enough to let Swifthom catch up with him before matching speed. Justin noticed that Swift was only a few inches shorter than him. Random sort of observation, but Swift didn't seem as out of place on this mission as someone like Vortex or Cookirini. Justin smirked at Swift. "Crazy story, you know," began Justin. "I'm from a world called Thrae. In my dimension, on my world, we were living in what you might call a post-apocalyptic age, where we were barely surviving in the ruins of a long-lost civilization with advanced technology. I grew up wanting to be an archeologist, discovering secrets of the people who lived before us. But being an archeologist in my world is a dangerous job, with every dig site filled with traps and 'bots that we had to face if we were going to find out anything."

"So that's why you know how to use guns, and that explains how you've been handling those doors," said Swifthom with understanding.

"Right on the dot," affirmed Justin with a thumbs-up. "But that doesn't explain how I got here. That was a complete accident, 'cause I fell down a shaft in one of the ruins and happened to stumble into a portal that landed me right in Sega City." Justin's smirk grew into a full-blown smile as his own memories of what had happened resurfaced, brought back by the reminiscing of his fake past. "If it weren't for Vector showing up and calming me down, I could've been put in jail. I kinda freaked out when I saw a walking, talking hedgehog for the first time in my life."

Both Justin and Swift chuckled at that thought. "But anyway," continued Justin, "so Vec was the one who helped me find a way back home. I had to stay here for a while before I finally got back, but even then I stayed in contact with him, sending messages through the portal."

Justin paused, his grin falling as his memories of what really happened to bring him there rose to the surface of his mind. "But then the world started tearing itself apart. Someone had pressed the wrong button in one of the ruins, and it started a nuclear reaction in Thrae's core. I tried to get others to listen, to come with me to this world, but I was laughed out of our councils. If they'd believed me..."

If the government hadn't forced their hand like they did... thought Justin, anger and sadness rising up within him sincerely.

"But, that's my story for you," ended Justin. "Vec gave me a new chance at life here, and now I'm going to keep my end of the bargain by helping protect Sega City."

Dang, hope nobody thinks I rehearsed that, thought Justin, trying to hide his nervousness with the real feelings he had from his past. Last thing I need is people thinking I'm some faker trying to pretend to be a Mod.

"Mind if I ask you the same question, Swift?" said Justin quickly, trying to change the subject so things wouldn't linger on Justin. "What kind of world did you come from?"

"A drab one, full of jerks and morons." Swift shrugged, "Sometimes It's best not to think about it, I could go back but it's not home any more." He had a cold look in his eyes, and he glanced skywards as he considered some long forgotten memory.

"I remember my first day in Sega City, stepping through a terminal into this huge fantastic world. I was alone, all on my own with just a bag of clothes and no money, well not in any currency they take here." He chuckled, "Complete freedom and an excellent social life, I took up residence in one of the abandoned homes and just, melded in." His voice was full of wonder and excitement, he obviously had a lot of affection for the old place.

"What about your brother, Bomb?" Justin asked, "I thought he was your brother."
"Oh, he followed me through, later..." Swift replied in a muted tone, trying to sound fluent. "He doesn't get on with a lot of people."
Now that was understating it a bit...

OOC:

OK, just a heads up about something on my end. Due to RL related restraints (namely exams), I will only be able to log on the net about two times a week. That is likely to continue to be the standard case untill mid to late June (I MAY be able to log in three times a week, but at this point this remains to be seen).

Which basicaly means my ability to propel the story ever forward, ever fast - is going to be severely limited 'till then.

I'm gonna think about a possible way around it, but for now, bare with it. ^__^

IC:

The group had now reached the end of the rather long tunnel, leading to a staircase that ended on a hatch, similar to the one they entered from. Everyone stoped for a few minutes to catch their breath, while Rachel was explaining stuff about the Airport.

"OK, people. Listen up. This staircase will take us out in the middle of the airstrip. The airstrip presently houses about four Jets. We will need to procure ONE of them, and we will need to do it quitely. Secondly, since all of this jets are supposed to be stored as back-up, they dont have any fuel, which means WE have to refuel them ourselves. Now, the GOOD news is that we can actualy do that without drawing too much attention."

"No guards?" Knight asked.

"You should be so lucky." Rachel smiled. "There are several patrols - but it's all the kind of grunts you've dealt with previously on the island."

"Right, so what we need to do, is go up, take out any guards that might spot us, refuel the Jet, and take off nice and easy, right?" Knight asked, again.

"More or less, yeah. I'll have to go the control tower, so I can contact the people over Hephaestus. That should give me an opportunity to assess the situation there. While I'm doing it, you refuel that Jet. Depending on what I learn when I contact Hephaestus, we'll discuss strategy while on the air."

It was Justin who asked a question now. "Why dont you just contact them with helmet, like you did before?"

"Because me helm only has a direct link-up with other HEATs, and in this case Magma - since Holocaust, Phoenix, and Fire-Sword seem to be out of reach. I need to contact some grunts and misc. commanding officers to get the pulse of events. ALSO, I wanna try to see what's the status with Bomb. He SHOULD be released from the nano-regeneration machines by now."

With that she started going up the stairs. "Wait a couple of minutes after I'm gone, and then come up on the airstrip. Just dont cause a ruckus. You'll realy have to flex those Stealth skills of your on this one. Screw this one up, and we might seal ourselves out of the only entrance to that volcanno."

"Well," OTB chimed in. "I know I usualy dont act the paranoid, but how do we know that there wont be an army of soldiers waiting us up there when we go out."

Rachel smirked. "Because Cy would know if they did."

Knight smiled. "Ya, that would make sense."

Rachel nodded, and wore her helmet. She then turned to Camden. "Um, Camden?"

"Erm, yes?"

"Could you please stop staring at my ass?"

Camden's jaw droped, as she seemed completely devoid of any ability to respond. She wasn't given much of a chance eitherway, as Rachel quickly ran up and through the portculis.

Knight slowly turned to Camden. "You did NOT do what she just said....... did you?!"

HQ Tower

"And looks like I have to go now." TBlood said as he stood up from his seat. Gauntlets formed around his hands, and his familiar viso materialised in his face. "I've completed the instalation and debugging of Protocol 13. But I'm afraid I cant stay right now."

"Problems?" Red asked.

"Nah, not realy. The usual stuff."

"You know what, TBlood?" Vector asked. "I'll be the first to admit that I never actualy asked you what you do when not around here, but what IS the Guardian of Worlds supposed to do? I mean, sure - I know what your duties are, but how exactly do you fullfill them on a daily basis? You seem awfuly busy for someone whom I consider to only get involved in MAJOR interplanar stuff."

"That's because I do more than just involve myself with 'major interplanar stuff'." TBlood commented. "For intanse, today I have to go to our Templar Citadel of Nexus to check up on one of the over 100 side-projects we are involved with. Then I have to covertly attent a meeting in the Planar city of Union, in a conference held by the Planar Cartographic Society regarding recent exploration findings in the 564th Layer of The Abyss. Send an envoy to a Pantheon that requested my meditation on some divine politics regarding two gods fued regarding their domains, AND I also sensed a Greater Planar Breach that occured 20 minutes ago between two Material Planes. It's nothing special - those stuff happen like once every month at random, some times even more often - but I have to repair it. And I'll have to initiate a preliminary investigation into the afair to make sure it was random, and not a calculated act, in which case I'll have to hunt down someone or something for Planar Transgression - or rather, assign a Templar Inquisitor after said trangressor. You know, the usual stuff."

Vector only blinked rapidly for a few moments. True Red on the other hand, just laughed. "Heh, I've learned long ago not to ask him what his daily agenda was. So, we'll see you in a week or something, Vass?"

"I'll probably return later today. Or maybe project an Avatar. Depends on things. Anyway, I realy have to be going now."

And with that TBlood slowly faded out of the Plane...

TBC...

EDIT:
OOC:
LOL! I just realised something. Funny how TBlood's need to leave because he needed to take care of things coincided with MY need to do the same thing.
That was a random brainfart.

Giggling RB answered, "You can always hide by me if you want, Vortex. I wouldn't want the free meals I earned to go to waste y'know."

Swiftbomb and Stressed had made some progress with Stressed's pet soldier, having forced the guard to find some clothes Bomb was now decked out in a bomber jacket and combat trousers, but that was all the stocks had so he was going commando
(OOC: If you dont get the joke, dont worry, also, sorry for not using Pants/trousers instead of trousers like i usually do but that would RUIN the joke)

Now fully clothed and armed with one round of bullets they had taken refuge in the stock cupboard to assess the situation. The guard said he knew the way out; "If we're going I want to go now before my shift is missed."
"How long have you got before you change over?" Bomb asked, looking back from the shelves as he was stuffing food rations and spare clips of ammo into the bomber jacket's pockets.
"Less than half an hour, they probably know I'm gone already." The guard had dismissed the other two who had been guarding Swiftbomb's door, claiming to be their replacements at the end of the shift. When the shifts changed they would probably notice that Bomb was gone, "Well, since she wasn't here when I broke out she won't be blamed for me escaping," Bomb shrugged, "I really don't care where we take it from here. What do you want to do Stressed?"

"WHAT?! NO! No way!? Ged, how can you... On a mission! Shut up! Let's just go!" the sailor stammered, frustrated, with a growing crimson tint to her features "Let's just go, already!" she stormed off, following along on their next objective, wishing even more that she was anywhere but here, and cursing her male heritage.

-

"Personally, I want to get out of here in one piece. All three of us will be safe if we get out within half an hour. Three of the big baddies were occupied with your friends, last time I checked, so there's only a few grunts standing between us and the exit. Let's get moving, we've not got any more time to waste"

OOC: Im struggling to place Camden, is she the girl who used to be a guy or is the whole Craig's memory thing a misnomer?
Also, is she the guy trapped in a girl's body or a girl who regrets being a guy?
So difficult to place...

IC:
Swift chuckled as Camden started off but called out, "Calm down Camden, she said to wait a few minutes. We need to plan what we're gonna do," he glanced up at Knight hesitantly, "Right?"

OOC: All of what you said about Camden have a merrit of validity. I'll try to clarify.

First off, what the whole deal is with the 3 Bayfields is intented to be weird, and shrowded in mystery and intrigue. The only thing you can tell for sure, is that of the three - Stressed is not Human.

As for Camden, what ppl know officialy is:

At age 18, Craig was turned to Sailor Bayfield. So, up to age 18, Camden's memories are Craig's memories. But she IS a woman in all the ways that count, and so is attracted by men as well... on the other hand, part of her still is(was) Craig, so it is actualy safe to assume that she would gawk to a girl as well. 😛 I dont realy know if you could actualy classify her as bisexual, as it is more complicated than that.

Camden does not regret her femininity, and she curses her Craig side of things.

She and Craig, for all intents and purposes, are two different entities as far as anyone can tell. Apparently Sailor Bayfield split into two entities (Craig and Camden) after the Sailorness Virus (which is the case with a lot of the original Sailors - like EVec and Sailor Evil).

Whether or not there is MORE to all this that meets the eye, is something you'll have to figure out for yourself. ^__^

I'll post IC later... ^__^

EDIT: As far as Camden's sexuality is concerned:

In actuality it's one of the running gags me and Craig have - Camden gawking at Rachel was a joke Craig once did in a chat, and we kinda went with it ever since - a lot of things are based on gags

It also fits with the "Bayfield Curse" running joke. Up until this point, Craig Bayfield often found himself being attracted by females - who turned out to be men transformed to women (latest event was the girl he liked in GMH who turned out to be TBlood).

And now Camden continues the gag with a different twist: Instead of a man loving a woman who is a man as was the case with Craig - Camden's a man who is a woman, who is attracted to a woman (Rach).

On the other hand, Camden's also attracted to Knight, which places Knight in the OPPOSITE spectrum of the gag (Knight liking a woman that used to a man). At least it started as a gag - there are specific plot reasons behind that romance that will come in play in future GMs.

"Right." Replied Knight to Swift. "We should wait for a few mins. Once topside, we should move quickly and stealthily to secure the fuel. There are probably on the edges of the Airstrip. They should be underground, with large hoses on the groundside so we can attach them to the nearest, and most convinient Jet. Best Plan is, move cautiously..."

"That's it?!" Swift blinked. "I was expecting something like a formation and all that military things you seem to like."

Knight laughed softly. "Hide and Seek is Hide and Seek in any way you look at it. And when you dont have a visual reference of the terrain, the best plan is SIMPLY to have the intention to be careful, and to keep out of sight. Naturaly, once we go up we'll have a chance to see what is around us, and move accordingly. Fighting properly needs training, but anybody can sneak around effectively."

"Only in this instance, being found means more than just 'losing the game'." Camden commented. "It means geting shot at, and possibly getting killed."

"True that. This isn't a game..." Knight replied grimly and then added with a smile. "But on the other hand, we've gone too far to worry about a silly airstrip. We can handle this, people." He said gazing everyone, and then turned to Camden. "And besides, I've told you before I'd watch your back, didn't I?"

Camden nodded. "Yes. In the proffessional, soldier-cover way that is."

"Sadly, as much as I'd like it - the other option would prove to be fataly distractive - so I just try not to think about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Nevermind, it seems I would be wasting time." Knight shook his head, and checked his weapons...

Airport Base, Control Center

Hot-Shooter had entered the main base, bypassing the guards who saluted her on sight, she reached a Computer Terminal.
{i]"At least so far, everything seems to be working as I planed - the grunts here are not aware of me betrayal, and here's hoping the rest haven't either."

Fiddling around with the controls, she bypasses restricted video links, and noticed that Bomb was no longer in the Medroom. "I should have given him a radio... Hope he stays out of sight..."

Suddenly, on the video feed, the door to the medroom opens and in enters a woman with blonde pigtails.

"Oh, hell!" Rachel spat.

Hephaestus Base

Jeanette had just entered the room, expecting to find Swiftbomb there.

"What? The little kitten is not here?!" She squinted her eyes and realised that he had probably escaped somehow. Walking towards a terminal on the wall, she touches a few button and an alarm is sound "Attention, all units! The prisoner has escaped! Seek him out, and shoot him on sight!"

Airstrip

Everyone was not topside, hiding behind some large crates.
"There's our ride out of here!" Knight said pointing to a Jet that was conveniantly placed only a few feet away from a Fuel Line.

The Jet was rather big, it seemed to be a Multipurpose Jet, dedicated mostly as a transport of troops, but being able to survive a fight. It's landing hatch was open, and light was coming from inside. A couple of soldiers came from inside, judging from the fact that they only carried guns and not riffles, they probably were service crew and not actual guards.

"We'll need to take those guys out, first." Knight said. "Keep your eyes open, patrol teams should be around this place..."

TBC...

OOC:
Swift, Craig. Only a few of the Troopers inside Hephaestus are like the grunts outside in the Jungle.

The general area you in right now, is the Medical Complex. The medical complex has ppl that are for the most part equal to everything you've faced before, with the exception of their equipment.

They wear the same BDUs, but they are only armed with Steyr AUG riffles. It was the same kind of weapon that Flamers were using during GMX - for the history buffs. ^__^

Beyond the Medical complex, the place has a lot of FLAME Commandos in addition to the aforementioned grunts. Commandos wear full body suits, of much LESSER quality than the HEAT Exo-suits. But they do enhance movement and strenght, and provide nightvision capabilities. They are not bulletproof though.

FLAME Commandos may not be as good as HEATs, but they ARE elites. These guys mean business. They are armed with TAVOR Commando Compact Assault Riffle which may not look like much, but is extremely superior to the Vektor.

FLAME Commandos always go about as teams, and ACT as teams.

Some FLAME Lieutenant Commandos, use the F2000 riffle that Knight uses - but it's unlikely you'll meet any of those.

As for the airstrip, it has the typical jungle grunts. Play ball... ^__^

"Hmm, there's not really a lot of places to hide here, we'll just have to sneak around the hangars, and get as close as we can" Blu groaned. The patrols were casually walking back and forth all around the airstrip, but they didn't look too much of a threat, which boosted his confidence a bit.

When everyone had climbed out onto the surface, Blu stated his idea. "I suppose all of us that are willing to get our hands dirty should go and secure the plane, while the rest of you go and fill the jet with fuel."

"There's not a moment to lose is there? Let's finalise a plan and get out of here..."

Cy's eyes lit up at the sound of the alarm. "Sound slike he got out ok so far. Blu's right. We need a plan. Knight, any ideas? I though I'd just kill them all where they stand at the moment. You know, kind of a thing where I make it so their hearts just kind of stop all at once."

OOC: If I have a proper understanding of CyKairus's psychic powers, then this should work.

IC:
Justin had to admit, he was a little annoyed that everyone seemed to be turning to Knight for the ideas. He's done a good job, fooling everyone like he has been. Even gained their trust. Well, two can play it that way.

And the idea of just slaughtering everyone in the way was just appalling. It was fast and it would work, but at the cost of a lot of lives that really didn't need to be spent, in Justin's opinion.

"Hold your horses, Cy, I think you just gave me an idea," said Justin aloud with an outstretched hand. "Could you use your powers to bring those techies over here and knock them out?"

Cy rolled his eyes. "Is Sonic the Hedgehog fast?"

"Good. If this works right, then we should be able to take the jet without getting attention to ourselves, AND without risking more lives."

"Want to let us in on this plan of yours?" asked Camden.

"'Kay, here's the deal. We get those two techs down here, two of us take their uniforms and fuel the plane. When we get that done, everyone boards and we're off without a problem. Any questions?"

"Who would you suggest be the two 'replacements?'" asked Knight.

Nice way to look reasonable, thought Justin as he turned to Knight. "I was thinking of going myself. My plan, my risk, right? The other one would have to be a human instead of a hedgehog or echidna, since we haven't seen any soldiers that weren't human on this island. That means you, Blu, Miss Camden, Miss Blue, or Swift."

"What about me? I'm a human," pointed out Cosmic Kid.

Justin shook his head. "Sorry, but you look too young for this one. They'd pick you out like a banana on a cherry tree."

Aw, man."

"And what if this doesn't work?" asked Knight, his eyes revealing no inherent doubt that the plan would not work.

"Then we'll have to do what Cy was just suggesting and get violent. At least the way I see it, this way gives us the possibility of avoiding unnecessary bloodshed. 'Sides, I'd rather save my ammo for what's inside that volcano."

Just looked around at the group. "Any other questions?"

"Plus, we can empty their fuel reserves after we're done," Swift pointed out, "Just leave the pump running after we disconnect the plane and we leave the entire airbase unable to launch a single fighter, helicopter or anything that isnt already pre fueled."

He had already said that he was against just blowing up the airbase for the hell of it, they had to just move on.

OOC: Just a note mostly to Cy - the Alarm is actualy only inside the volcano. No alarm where we are. Otherwise everything is peechy.

IC:
"Good plan, we'll do what Justin and Swift said. Swift can be the other Tech. I dont do discuises, and I'd be more useful watching your backs anyway." Knight agreed and nodded to Cy.

Cy shook his head as he extended his hands. "I still think it would be a lot simpler to shut down their brains."

Cy clutched the air with his fingers and quickly folded his arms. The technicians were thrust in the air and towards the group at high velocity, halting in mid air in front of them. The sudden stop was like hitting a brick wall for them, and thus they were rendered unconcious. Cy relaxed his fingers and the two men fell on the ground limp.

"It's dress-up time, kids." Knight chuckled.

TBC...

"Ooh, I want the padded one," Swift chuckled in a whiney kids voice as he checked the group. Unzipping one of the guards uniforms he recovered the mans ID card and wallet in his inner pocket.

"Zahid Oldburne, sub tech level 2." he read aloud with a sigh, checking through the man's wallet he recovered a driving license, travel card and some strange notes. "He's not from around here," Swift mumbled, "Did Pyroclad recruit these people from other worlds?"

"Don't know," Knight shrugged, "It doesn't really matter, they could be from anywhere. The problem is that their here now, so hurry up and get changed."

"Okay, Swift sighed, replacing the mans wallet and snatching the ID card, before dragging him away so he could get changed.

Justin stepped out from where he had taken the other trooper to change, feeling a little self-conscious somehow as he approached the rest of the team. He raised a hand to hold onto the bill of the mechanic's cap that he now wore, adjusting it at the last moment. Along with the cap was a jumpsuit affair similar to what the soldiers had been wearing, although these uniforms were more for grease monkeys than for soldiers. It still felt somehow more comfortable to Justin, like his body slid into it like a hand into a glove.

"Nice fit, looks good on you," commented Knight with a smile.

"I just wish it was one of the ladies saying that instead," said Justin almost before he even realized it. Stupid stupid stupid! I'm not some ladies' man, I'm just here to do the job. Why do I even open my-

"Ready!" said Swifthom as he came around the corner and finished zipping up the jumpsuit to his neck, decked out in similar fashion.

Thank goodness for good timing, thought Justin with a degree of relief. "Then let's get this show on the road! Wish us luck, folks, we're goin' in."

Justin didn't wait for long before he emerged from the secret tunnel, and Swift was right behind him. It was nerve-wracking as they made their way toward the jet they had selected, in those first few seconds where they might have been spotted by one of the wandering patrols. Justin kept one hand in his pocket, clutched to the stun gun he had brought with him. He tried to act natural, but he wasn't willing to relax until they walked up to the fuel station without any trouble.

And they made it.

"Okay, partway there," whispered Justin as he hoisted one of the large fuel hoses into his arms, ready to drag it over to the selected jet. "Anyone notice us, y'think?"

"Not a sign," replied Swift, who casually swept his gaze around the airstrip before returning it to the task at hand. "Looks like we're-"

"Hey! You there!"

Justin's adrenaline level met an all-new high as he and Swift turned to face a soldier fast approaching them, with another three standing close by to watch. "What are you doing there? There haven't been any calls for aircraft prep! Haven't you heard what's been going on?"

Justin shook his head at the soldier. "Yeah, but this plane is, um, reserved."

"Reserved?"

Crud, it doesn't look like he believes me, thought Justin as he saw his plan start falling apart. Hadn't thought this far into it, and I hate coming up with stuff to say on the spot...c'mon, think think think...

"Yes, this plane is reserved for Rachel, AKA Hotshooter. She's just gone up into Hephaestus to report to Magmar at the moment, but she told us that she'll be back soon and she wants to have this plane ready." 'Stand straight, back up, give him full eye contact, act like you're in control here' Swift warned himself as the Soldier starred at him. He fixed an annoyed frown over his face and agitatedly glanced around the airbase as if he was looking for anyone else to back him up, fortunately this lone soldier was the only one in sight at the moment.

"Rachel, Magmar...." the soldier frowned reaching for his radio, "Um hang on..."
"They're HEAT soldiers you god damn idiot," Swift slapped the soldier's head lightly, not to hard but he wanted to make a point. In the end he barely touched the man, just flicked his ear, the soldier stepped back in surprise.

'Okay, flow with it Swift' "Don't you know who runs this @#%$ island, look at you. Just a lowly FLAME grunt, if you want to go and check with your superior then go ahead and get him to ask Rachel why she wants us to take a plane up to the volcano."

He was dumping the blame on her, but he was buying her some time. And if that woman was as smart as she made out she'd think up her own story why there were grunts refueling a plane for her.

"Allright, but there was no need to slap me," the soldier replied dumbfounded as he regained his composure.
"Then don't act like such an ass," Swift replied with a sigh, riasing his eyebrows and breathing deeply as if he was dissapointed with something. "Sorry mate, What's your name?"
"Orion Smith," the soldier replied with a sigh, "And who are you?"
"Zahid Oldburne, go look me up on your records." Swift smiled fondly, as he realised something. "Say, when does your shift end Orion?"

"I've only just come on," Orion replied.
"Shame, we've got a break once we've finished with this plane. I was going to say I'd make it up to you in the canteen, you any good with a game of cards?" Swift pulled out the pack of cards he had stolen from the prison base they had passed earlier.

"I'd be glad to, but not tonight. Some other time Zahid."
"See you around Orion," Swift waved, "We'll just be ten minutes here, havea good night."
"Will do," Zahid waved and marched back onto his patrol, not a single suspicous thought left in his mind. "Oh, and Zahid," Swift called after him, "Tell the other guards we're here, I dont want to have to slap them all."
"Will do," Orion replied laughing as he got the joke, the guard pointed at his ear and grinned. Hell, that joke wasn't even that funny.
"Sorry about that, really sorry," Swift put on a false grin, barring his teeth as he looked ancious. "Look, don't worry about it,"

Swift grinned and turned back to Justin, sliding the pack of cards back into his pockets. As soon as his head was turned he let out a sigh of dispair, "Idiot grunt, didn't even ask to see my ID."
"Yeah," Justin replied watching the soldier walk away, "What's wrong with him."
"Stop watching him, if anyone else sees you starring at him they'll get suspicous," Swift whispered a friendly warning as he started searching for the oil cap.

"Okay Justin, I got rid of the guard, now do you have a clue how to refuel this baby?"

Knight smiled tucked away in a dark place on the otherside of the runway, his binoculars turned towards Justin and Swift.

"Smoooooth, Swift. Real smooth." He said over the OpComm. "And the grunt didn't even realised you spelled Magma wrong." He turned towards the rest. "Once they are done, we move out."

"Hey, a guys allowed a bit of an accent," Swift grinned, gratefull for Knights complement.

OOC: I need to decide what accent Swift and Bomb have, I definitely dont want them to sound brummy but something British needs to stay, without going all posh...
Im half way towards saying having a very light scottish accent but the implications would be too much to handle

Justin chuckled, relieved that they had pulled this off so far. "Thanks for coverin' for us, Swift, my tongue was tied," he said as he bent down and lifted up the long refueling tube, grunting until he had it securely in both arms. "Okay, head to the plane and find the fuel tank, should be toward the rear section on the side."

Swift dashed on ahead as Justin dragged the flexible pipeline along with him, the air reeking of jet fuel. Though the smell itself wasn't particularly homey, it did remind Justin of happier memories spent helping others, whether in the garage or in the lab where the smells could get just as strong. And now here he was, doing something similar to what he would've done back then.

'Cept this is for real, he thought as he reached the plane and attached the pipe to where Swifthom directed. With a swift twist of the knob underneath the mouth of the pipe, it wasn't long before the throb of pumping fuel could be felt and heard.

"And there we go," said Justin, leaning with one hand against the plane. "Shouldn't take more than a few minutes with the size of this fuel line."

"Good to hear."

Justin looked past Swift, scanning the airstrip. "Wish it'd be faster though, I hate being a sitting duck when there's patrols wandering around here."

"I feel ya," Swift muttered back. "Just try to look bored, that's more natural for your job right now."

"Yeah, isn't it?" Justin said with a chuckle as Swift leaned back against the plane and lazily checked the watch he had swiped. "You're better at this spontaneous acting stuff than I am, you just saved our butts and my plan. Thanks again."

"S'no problem, really," replied Swift as he raised his hands behind his head, looking out from the plane onto the airstrip distractedly. "It's a good plan, and I'm not that much a fan of killing all these guys either. They're just the same as us, you know, just signed up for the other side."

"Yeah."

Justin could be a deep thinker, but he did tend to think of people more subjectively, and up to now he had just thought of the FLAME troopers as "the bad guys." But the point Swift had made so simply brought it home to Justin all the more reason not to end any more life than had already been done. These guys might have friends, family somewhere else, thought Justin. I've got to stay true to the mission and to myself. That might face me with a hard choice, but if I do the latter, the former will follow. It's always worked out before, right?

THUNK!

"Fuel's done," stated Justin automatically as he pushed himself from the plane and wrestled with the fuel line. He tightened the line first, then deattached it from the cap before pulling it away from the plane.

Swifthom had already pulled out his OpComm. "The plane is ready," he whispered as he watched Justin open up the fuel line again and drop it. The line began pouring fuel, wasted onto the blacktop, and it pumped at an incredible rate.

"Good job, you two, we're coming right up. Keep your eyes open for those patrols."

"Roger that." Swift closed the comm just as Justin walked up to him, dusting off his hands.

"We're almost there," Justin said with some satisfaction.

"Cookirini" simply watched as Justin and Swift left.

GINGER: Why are we waiting?
INI: Shut up.

The echidna pouted, waiting for when she could strike.

"The only trouble with that is if any patrols DO come, realise what we're doing and start shooting at us then, on stray bullet and..." Swift made a whoosh noise with his lips, and grimaced.

"We'd better hope no one comes then," Justin nodded, checking the plane one last time. Everything was in order, they just needed all the passengers before they could take off.

No noncense, no fuss and when this was all over hopefully the idiots inside the airport would be non the wiser that anything had happened.

Cy stepped up from the tunnel and breathed deep, then hacked. "Wow. Gotta love the fumes in the mornin'." He adjusted something under his coat on his shoulder and dusted himself off. Walking over, he admired Justin's idea. "Read my mind," he said, with something that remotely sounded like the echo of a chuckle. Dump all the fuel and then torch the place. Heh. Wasn't blowing it to dust and back, but good enough.

::The group had spread out along the runway, not too thin, in order to minimize their probability of being spotted. Cykarius had begun heading toward the plane, not worried in the slightest. Mainly because he looked like one of the grunts running about. When he reached the boarding side of the plane, his mental guise went off, as he gave Justin and Swift a thumbs up.

"Good, now let's stash ourselves and move the fuel. I'd do it mentally, but it might be better if we have some legwork do it. Knight, how're we looking?"

"Fine. A few soldiers heading our general way. Tham, you think you can carry and fling that fuel nozzle into the bushes, so we can dump their fuel"

"Yeah, not a problem" he responded, standing up from inside the tunnel. He was too big to readily hide behind boxes and what not, so he opted for the tunnel. Seeing what needed to be done, he would quickly walk over and grasp the back end of the tube, reeling it in from Swift and Justin. When the metallic nozzle was in his grasp, he would carry it to the nearest patch of jungle.

"So, how do I turn this on, anyone?" He asked, as he set it down, pointing the open end so the fuel headed deeper into the grass covered area. He couldn't really see what he was doing, so he hoped fuel did not fly into his face.

"Just pull on the lever that's on top of the nozzle, Tham. Then step back and let the fuel do all the work!" Swift stated, before looking over to the east, and motioning Cookie and Irinikooc to get on board. Justin took over watching their back as Swift looked to the west now and motioned for Rad, Vortex and Blu.

Those two flanks went off without a hitch, Cyk looking over to where Cosmic was standing, close to where Tham was.

"Ok you two, bring it in. Knight and Camden will sneak up board last and then we should be good to go until Rachel gets here. Simple as pie." Cyk almost laughed at how easy this was-momentarily looking away as Tham reached the plane first. Cosmic turned around however, noticing his cape had got stuck on a crate as he hopped over it. A hand went out to pluck it free, - but at that moment, a light went off right in Cosmic's face.

"Stop right there. Intruder! Hands up now!

Cosmic blinked in fear. Yeah he was super strong, but this guy was holding a very odd but powerful gun right up to his face. He turned around as fast as he could; hands swinging up in a frenzy of shaking and compliance. But as soon as his hands raised up, the guard fell backwards, punched in the throat.

Knight was using his binoculars, and from what he could tell, Cosmic punched the guy in his throat! A most effective move, even though it seemed the guy wasn't going to live from the force of the punch. But it did not matter. Hands went up to cradle his gun, as he let off a set of two rounds, disabling a incoming grunt at the knees. "Move Cosmic-get in the plane. Not sure how that guard spotted you, but we can't afford to lose this jet now."

But the boy couldn't move. He was shaken with fear, not because of where he was, but because of what he could not have possibly done. Eyes shut as he turned away, baby steps his only visible retreat.

"I didn't kill him. I didn't kill him. I didn't kill him..."

"@#%$! What's that kid doing?" Cyk barked as he raised his hand, ready to wipe the minds of any persistant little follower that showed their head.

"Why oh why does today never get easier?"

==================================

Inside the plane, Vortex would take a moment to look around, and assess the surroundings. There were two overhead rails with holes in them, to be used as holders as they flew. A small protuberance would extend the length of the plane from either wall, somewhere to rest their butts. He would do so, and looked at the forms inside. The two echidnas-the girl who wanted him to buy her pizza-and the Moderator guy. The small guy and the psychic came on next, but then the small guy ran out again. He could hear the sounds of metal being forced out of chambers, used for the sole purpose of forcing their way into someones life, and hampering it severly.

The thuds of a large person could be head very close by-he alluded that to be Thamior. Knight was somewhere close, he could hear his voice over the common OpComm channel. That also meant Camden was nearby.

The Kid-as everyone called him-seemed to be their main priority-and that was soon brought to truth, as the large man ran on the plane and set the kid down, whom eyes were closed, and was muttering something about killing someone, or not killing someone.

Theere was too much going on again, as he turned to look hear, to force his ears to not hear the firefight outside. One eye opened to see Blu sitting there as well, watching intently at what was going on.

"There's not alot of them, only 3 or 4. Justin and Knight are trying to get closer, and Tham is trying to give them cover by smashing the boxes they they are hiding behind." Blu looked toward the entry hatch just then, to see Swift run in with Camden. Vortex took note of this, counting everyone in his figers...multiple times. If he was not mistaken; that left only one person unaccounted form. He looked around, seeing no green trench coat, no hissing demeanor, no silent sneaking.

"Hey, wait. We can't leave yet."

"We know, Rachel's not here, and we can't fly in the dark." Camden stated

"No. We're missing som--"

"Damn, no lights, that's right." Swift stated, hitting the side of the jet-as well as cutting Vortex off. "We can't take off without Rachel, and without some damn light."

"Reinforcements are going to come swiftly." Knight said, as he was able to hamper another one of the grunt men. The remaining three began to move in, cycling about a central focal point to keep the intruders at bay. Knight had seen this basic triangle defense performed before, but there was something different about it...as if it was unstable.

It hit him then. They were scared. It looked smooth, but only because they were so scared that their bodies were on auto-pilot. The gun was stuffed away, and his knife was pulled out, in order to make this much more easier on his part.

"Don't have to kill them." Was the thought on Justin's mind as he ducked behind the boarding ramp. He still had his eye on the forward soldier, as Knight was lucky enough to get close and make his move. Tham did as well, being the large form that he was. The bullets that came toward him were blocked with his broadsword before a mighty cleave would be performed on the ground, sending them backwards. The disorientation allowed Justin to get off a perfect tranq to the lower neck, putting that point guy down. Knight was able to utilize his CQC to disarm a second man, and knock him out for the count. The last man was already felled by Tham's intervention. Even as it was though, more would be on the way, as they all moved back toward the jet.

"We need to get airborne...now!" Knight canted, looking around for where the next strike might come from. Justin shruigged, looking around as well. "I don't know how this plane works, but I could give it a look."

"Do that." Knight replied, looking to Tham. "I'm sure right now we have things covered. Swift, you got a clear window you can shoot from?"

"Yeah." Swift replied, pulling out the twin S&W's he had recieved earlier. They felt heavier, and yet they were extremely light and easy to work with.

"Cy, anyone around us?"

"Will be soon. Where the hell is Rachel?"

"Hey guys, arent we miss--"

"Shh, not right now Vortex." Blu stated, as he watched curiously. Normally, he would have listened, but the situation at hand had him tense. Huffing out of frustration, he would look toward Cosmic-whom was trying to regain his composure. His eyes were still closed, his hands trembling.

"Geez isin't anyone concerned--"

"No ones concerned about a gnat like you." Cooki stated quietly to Vortex, glaring at him with a malicious look. Vortex backed away, bumping into RB as he did so.

EVIL DOUBLE POST! ::STABMURDERDEATHKILLSUPERGAIJINSMASH::

Orion Smith heard the alarm and found himself swearing curses as he realised the problem was the plane he had cleared earlier.

Had the engineers been fooling him, or were these intruders other people. What if Zahid had been killed by them, or what if Zahid was one of them? Either way he had to do his job, and clutching his rifle he lead the attack on the plane, coming from the front where he could see the others insie.

Inside the plane he was spotted by Swift, who realised with a curse that Zahid was going to get himself killed, they had to shoot him or he'd come in here and shoot us. Sweating his pulled down the planes door window, it jammed halfway down but he managed to tug it open. Leaning out the side he pointed the S&W's at the pncomming guards and paused.
He didn't want to kill Zahid, but he didn't have a choice. in a second those guards would startshooting at him, he only had a second or two before...

He pulled the trigger, and Zahid fell to his knees. The bullethad caught him in his left leg and he collapsed to the ground unable to carry his own weight. He crashed into the ground and came to a halt, cradling his wound.
In a few minutes he'd start crawling back to the airport, where hopefully he'd be safe from the fate that would meet all the other soldiers following behind him.