[PM] [Earth] Week ---: Derelict

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Several Zombies

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OPERATION: DERELICT


CONFIRMING DEPLOYED AGENTS...
...CONFIRMED.

FUJIKAWA MASATO, GENERAL, ORPHEUS.
CALEB FLETCHER, LIEUTENANT, ORPHEUS.
HAYASHI SACHIKO, LIEUTENANT, ORPHEUS.
SHIHARA ZAKKI, CHAIRMAN, CERBERUS.
DATA CORRUPTED.

The crackle of static hissed in Masato's ears as the pilot's voice reverberated through the intercom, still barely loud enough to be heard over the roar of the helicopter's blades.

"Storm's comin'! Once we drop you you'll have to wait for evac!"

"Noted." the General growled, his breath visible in the frigid air of the cabin. His sharp amber gaze turned downward to a small tablet in his gloved hands, the mission parameters displayed on screen.

"Outpost 312-B," he began, practically yelling into the boom microphone to be heard by his comrades. "...A subantarctic research facility used to test experimental weaponry far away from civilian populations. A good lot of what we pulled from the Order can be traced back here."

Panning down, the gunslinger grunted with displeasure as he continued his briefing.

"...And I'm sure you've heard rumors about it. Every agent has. The engineers and scientists here had no limitations placed on them. Not financial, not moral or ethical...Nothing was beyond reproach. Approximately two months prior to the Hollow attack on Tokyo, the facility went dark. No reports were ever filed, no distress calls sent, nothing. It dropped off the grid, and thanks to headquarters getting flattened, we had no means of investigating at the time..."

Masato was beating around the bush. Both he and his allies knew exactly what he was trying to say. They were going in blind. They had no intel on the state of the facility, its personnel, or what kind of resistance they might encounter. It was far from ideal, to say the least.

"Our records indicate that our target's next move will be here. What he's looking for is data stored on the outpost's servers. The whole facility is automated and autonomously powered; it's sitting on a geothermal vent that keeps it running. We have every reason to believe the information he's after is still accessible..."

Tossing the tablet onto the empty seat next to him, the gunslinger heaved a sigh.

"I don't need to tell you the stakes. We can't fail again."

A thump sounded as the chopper set down. Taking a long, deep breath as the doors slid open, the gunslinger stifled a cough. It was cold as hell. Now more than ever, the Masato regretted his decision to take his prized, if somewhat under-insulated duster over arctic gear. Pulling his collar up higher around his neck, he trudged off the helicopter and got his first look at the decrepit installation.

All around them sat various squatted huts, ranging from bland sheet-metal shacks to glimmering technological marvels, all in different states of disrepair. Crates of supplies sat frozen where they were dropped, vehicles sat empty and abandoned around the camp. Whatever happened here, it was clear to Masato that the previous occupants had left in a hurry.

"Let's move out."

475

This is one of two Earth missions. The second is 9130KhZ. There's four open slots for any Earth characters (AH, Vizard, Quincy) to join up. PCs take preference but NPCs are welcome. There's a three day rule in effect. Barring outstanding circumstances, you should not wait longer than three days to respond, or things will start going south.
 
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Nargles

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Though he possessed a rather athletic form, it was all but invisible over the layers of arctic-gear he had donned. Thin layers of jackets all piled on one another, finishing with a still rather stylish black overcoat. A set of goggles covered his eyes, the orange huge providing color in an otherwise white landscape. That being said, the piercing chill still managed get through it all. The heavy Noblesse still dwarfed him as it was strapped on his back.

He had remained silent throughout the General’s instruction, part of him readying his mind for the mission, the other part attempting to forget the last. The failure in the group’s ability to deal with the attack on Tokyo was still raw in all of their minds, and even the mere thought caused the scars on his body to hurt. Mechanical efficiency was something he needed this time.

As he stepped off the helicopter, an odd wave of reiatsu seemed to pulse from his body. For those around him, nothing seemed to change, Caleb Fletcher stood where he always did. However, from afar and through the growing storm, the double agent appeared to have just disappeared into the wind.
 
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OssumBunz

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A bitterly cold wind assaulted the cabin of the helicopter as the two heavy steel doors slid open. In no way had the low temperatures been emphasized enough, but then again it really had jack shit to do with the mission that had been laid out for the current team. Standing up to exit the craft, Revenant AUG slung onto her back, Sachiko tugged her red scarf up over her nose and mouth with a black gloved hand.

The young woman's usual choice in black clothing stood out in stark contrast against frosted greens and browns of the subantartic landscape. After a night of quick googling, she had decided to swap out her everyday long coat with a hooded puffer of the same length for this trip. On her feet were a pair of black mukluks, hopefully she'd be able to go home with all ten toes, that is what these expensive shoes were supposed to be good for anyway.

This area had a very creepy feel to it, like an abandoned village that a group would later find out is crawling with zombies. After all that she had experienced lately, Sachiko didn't think that she'd be all that surprised if that was what they found in there. The General had said that the experiments preformed at this place were on 'anything goes' terms, that felt like almost a guarantee of finding some sort of monster.
 

MoonlitRain014

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Sometimes Zakki wished he'd never been put in his unique position as the chairman of Cerberus Corporation. It involved way too many pain in the ass scenarios and life-threatening moments for his taste. Now he was dressed in many layers of heavy winter survival gear as an unbelievably frigid wind blew across the snowy wasteland that stretched around them in all directions to the horizon where a weak sun barely managed to break the swirling clouds of flakes that fell. He sighed and crunched through the snow to stand between Caleb, Sachiko and the infamous Masato Fujikawa.

Their location fascinated him because of the apparent speed at which it had been emptied out. Whenever he found himself in places like this, his mind ran through all of the scenarios that would lead to this kind of abrupt departure. In this instance, none of them were good. Hostile environments tended to encourage people to stay put. The way things had been scattered had the air of panic about it. He decided not to make too many observations yet. He just waited to see what Masato, who was in the lead, would do. He'd observe once he had a clearer idea of their objective.

[202/202]
 

Several Zombies

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The gunslinger's gaze passed over the decrepit facade of the facility's many buildings, quickly spotting the snow-covered alcove surrounding the outpost's main entrance. Drifts of powder threatened to bury the squatted concrete awning; nary a foot of the matte grey construction peeked out from the sea of white. Masato was lucky to have noticed it at all. Trudging over to the entryway, the General grimaced aloud.

"Looks like they forgot to lock up."

Inside the concrete cowl, a pair of heavy, sliding steel doors stood ajar, one clearly pulled from its tracks and hanging at an odd angle, while the other seemed to have seized partway shut. Both were frozen in position by a thick layer of rust. A gloved hand ran over the heavily bent door as Masato crouched low to get his first look inside. Producing a small flashlight from his duster's pocket, the gunslinger shone the narrow beam of light back and forth down the darkened hallway within. Small red lights flickered along the edges of the passageway, meant to direct the base's inhabitants to the exit.

"The place still has power, as expected." the gunslinger mused, turning his gaze back towards his comrades. As he did, however, a small detail caught his eye. Rounding his flashlight on the inner side of the bent door, the corners of his lips curled downward in a frown.

"Come take a look at this." he barked, waving the other agents over. Pulling one of his gloves off, the General's fingers ran along a series of jagged grooves etched into the side of the steel door.

"This thing was bent out from the inside." he breathed in a low voice. "...And these scratches here..." the agent gestured, placing his fingers in the grooves on the backside of the divider. "...They look like nail marks."

Ducking through the entranceway fully, the gunslinger drew his weapon, waving for the rest of the team to follow suit. Something strange had happened here. Masato could feel it in his gut. The sooner they got what they'd come for and put this god-forsaken place behind them, the better.

"Check your comms. We're moving in. From the looks of it, everything's buttoned up pretty tightly." the General whispered, cycling the SIREN communicator on his ear to their secure channel. "...We need to get to the security booth on the east side of the facility and lift the lockdown."

Tightening his grip on his revolver, the gunslinger trudged inward.

"Stay alert. We still don't know what we're up against, here."
 
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Nargles

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Beneath the veil of reiatsu that covered his body, Caleb Fletcher moved forward. The temporary stealth afforded him some freedom that the others currently lacked. He ran his hand over the jagged edges, the rusted, uneven remnants feeling rather foreboding. “Nails...” he muttered under his breath, “They’d have to be pretty extraordinary to get through steel like this.”

Caleb reached back, grabbing the Noblesse strapped to his back. The weapon felt like an extension of his body, as he began to carefully step through the door. He moved carefully, stepping forward carefully, not even a footprint betraying his location. With one hand, he adjusted the frequency of his communicator to sync with the rest of the group’s. “Hold for a sec.”

Producing a Initiative-issued flashlight from his pocket, he shone it down the pitch-black hallway. In a blur the agent appeared at the end of the hallway, a large open space trailing from the end. At first the room appeared empty, appearing to be nothing but a room abandoned long ago. As he shone the light across the floor, shadows from objects to the side cascaded across the floor.

The sight almost made him drop his flashlight.

“They’re...” he began to relay to the rest of the group. He stepped forward, barrel pointed towards the objects just in case. He relaxed his guard as he got a better look. “Bodies... I think.” Kneeling down, he shone the light on the closest ones. They looked long deceased, though not fully decomposed. The temperature slowed the necrosis, leaving frostbitten chunks of dead flesh.

His furrowed his eyebrows as he knelt closer. Basic knowledge of the human body made it so that could should have been to at least identify some of the bones and body parts in front of him. Though some were simply alien. What he initially thought was a femur instead curved sharply at the end, thinning and appearing far more extreme than anything humans normally possessed.

“Bodies of what...” Caleb mumbled over the communications network, as he began to see more odd shaped remnants, “I honestly couldn’t say... They’re soething more up your alley Chairman.”
 

MoonlitRain014

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A soft glow suffused the air around Zakki in the initial manifestation of his powers, as he first inspected the terrifying groove marks in the steel door and wandered over to stand next to Caleb Fletcher and examine the mangled bodies that lay on the ground, frozen in their process of decay. They were indeed unlike anything he’d experienced before but they were undoubtedly Titan in nature. At least that’s what they seemed although to his knowledge, he’d never seen the bones of one. He wasn’t even sure they could decompose or die like that. He shook his head.

“I’d be inclined to label them as Titan but there’s something really weird here. Whatever went down here, it was done by something with more power than I’m happy seeing in one place. Like Masato says, we need to keep pushing on here. This is stating the obvious but we really have to stay close right now. I don’t want to run into whatever the hell’s down here by myself.”

He poked at the dead flesh with the toe of his boot and wrinkled his nose. Sliding out his Cerberus-issued mobile he took some photos of the remains and sent them over a secure channel to Cerberus’ facilities in the hopes someone might be able to identify them or link them to other remains that might be on their databases.

“We’ll see if any of my scientists can give us a better idea of what the hell these remains belong to while we’re searching the place.”


[255/457]
 

OssumBunz

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Stepped through the mangled steel door, the onyx haired woman brought the Revenant around and into a readied position. With a soft click the tactical flashlight mounted on the rifle's fore-stock was lit up, shining light in the direction in which the firearm was pointed. It was simple tool, the light, but it brought the woman peace of mind to be able to have her hands free in case the AUG needed to be fired. By the looks of that door that could have been at any moment, that was of course if the thing ah done that was still in the complex at all.

Placing her left hand on a door's lever handle, Hayashi Sachiko cautiously cracked the entrance of a small dark room. The rifle's LED light swept back and forth slowly before it's handler was willing to step into the deserted space. Rows of filing cabinets lined the East wall, drawers pulled out and scattered on the ground with their contents missing. A few of the metal husks were dented and bent by force to gain access to the information inside quickly. It took only a brief glance to confirm that the people had been successful in gathering the material, not even a page remained.

Turning to face the west wall, the young woman found a basic metal desk, drawers ripped from their proper spots as well, a cup of pens knocked over on it next to an old tube monitor. Its plastic, white shell covered in a layer of frost, giving it an almost glass like appearance. On the ground beside the desk were various cords; they had managed to swipe the tower has well, but Sachiko doubted that any of these items had actually made it far, even if those inside had managed to escape.

Under the red scarf she frowned as she listened to the conversation between Fletcher and the Chairman over the SIREN. Whatever a Titan was code for it didn't sound human, perhaps it was what had damaged the door that they had entered through.

Heaving a sigh, Sachiko exited the room, purposely leaving its door open to remind herself that it had been checked. With nothing to report she rejoined the group.
 

Several Zombies

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A flash of amber light cut through the blackness behind Caleb and Zakki as Masato sidled up to the pair, a freshly lit cigarette pressed between his lips. Kneeling down, the gunslinger's gaze panned over the disheveled pile of bones with another grunt of disdain.

"Not a hollow." he breathed in a low tone. With the barrel of his gun, the agent gestured at a small, laminated card half-covered by the rotting remains. Standing up, the General placed his boot against the cadaver, turning it over cautiously. Now face up, the remains seemed decidedly more human; even wrapped in the tattered remnants of a lab coat with an identification card still dutifully pinned to the breast pocket. The inconsistencies that Fletcher noted, however, continued to mount.

"Now what the hell do you make of that, Shihara?" the gunslinger questioned, a look of mild disgust flashing across his grizzled visage as he took another drag on his smoke. While the strangely pointed femurs could have been attributed to an odd break, Masato couldn't explain away the other strange deformities present. One arm appeared to be missing; the ragged state of the remaining bone seemed to indicate that it was removed quite violently. The opposite appendage seemed largely normal up to the elbow, where a second radius and ulna appeared to protrude ninety degrees from the existing bone, capped with a hand sporting only three sharp digits. The skull of whatever or whomever this was also appeared to bear a number of odd growths; additional bulges of bone jutted out in random places.

In all his years, the gunslinger had never seen something quite so disconcerting. Heaving a smoke-filled sigh, the gunslinger's grip on his weapon tightened.

"We're not going to get any answers from him." he grunted, gesturing at the deformed corpse with his revolver. "...Move on the security outpost, double time. I want to know just what in the hell happened here."
 
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MoonlitRain014

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Zakki shook his head and made his own face full of distaste as he poked at the body again.

“No fucking clue is what I make of it. I suspect that if we keep on going here, we’re going to find out exactly what it was. Again I’m not really too sure I want to find out but here we go.”

The Chairman’s softly glowing body continued to fill the space with an eerie light. He slid his hood back as they were under shelter and it gave him a better chance to look around. It seemed unremarkable inside of this place but there was a decided sense of
wrong about it. There was a vague disconnect from the normal sense of reality that existed outside of it.


Masato’s order to keep moving rang out and cut through his musing. The group advanced forward toward the security outpost, each of them alert, each ready to leap into action if required and unsure of what they might find when they finally reached their destination. The sense of watchers hidden somewhere in the darkness that cloaked them grew heavier and heavier as they moved forward. All that Zakki could think was I just know that there’s something bad waiting at the end of this.

[212/669]
 

Several Zombies

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The trek to the security booth was short, but for the group it seemed to drag on for ages. Every room they passed was checked and cleared, but none cast any light on what had happened to the facility or its inhabitants. If anything, the addition of yet more bodies served only to deepen the mystery surrounding this place; remains of scientists and security personnel holed up in sealed rooms, frozen in huddled positions. However, none barring the first exhibited any kind of mutation.

Strange.

Up ahead, Masato could see the doorway to the security booth. The heavy steel partition, like the one at the base's entrance, was marred with scratches, though the scene here painted a much more vivid picture. A number of bodies were strewn around the hallway leading up to the door, piled up against the booth, their last desperate moments preserved by the frigid climate. It was clear they were trying to get inside the sealed booth, and presumably, to safety.

Safety from what was the question on everyone's minds.

Striding up to the door, Masato eyed grim setting with a look of disdain. Edging a hand around the partition, the gunslinger shook his head.

"Locked up tight."

Turning to the side of the frame, he tapped at the digital combination lock futilely. The device was in shambles, no doubt as a result of numerous attempts of those stranded outside to enter the compound. Letting out a frustrated sigh, the General turned his attention to the Cerberus chairman. Masato's post-human abilities were ill-suited for the kind of delicate touch required to open this particularly stubborn tin can. Sure, he could blast the door open, but there was no guarantee he wouldn't cause a significant amount of collateral damage in the attempt. Shihara on the other hand seemed comparatively well-equipped to remove this obstacle without damaging any potentially significant assets.

"What do you think?" the gunslinger breathed, knocking his fist lightly against the heavy partition. "...Can you cut through it?"
 

Nargles

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The sight of bodies scrambling towards the closed door was sickening to say the least. All was made worse by the fact that the cold had preserved them so well. “I honestly can say I don’t want to see what’s on the other side,” he said, voice muffled by the scarf around his neck. He gazed at the barrier, raising his hand to knock against the reinforced plating.

Looking back down, he traced the path that the bodies seemed to have been making, before looking back. “Seems like these were the unlucky ones. But if I recall correctly, I didn’t see another exit to this building.”

With a disgruntled look on his face, Caleb stepped back so Zakki could do his work, already dreading what they would find on the other side.
 

MoonlitRain014

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Looking up and down at the door, the Chairman considered the likely thickness and heft of the metal. He tapped at it and listened, looked at it on its edges and finally nodded at Masato.

“I think that shouldn’t be too much of a problem for me. I seem to have been designed for tasks like this. I would suggest that you all stand back though, molten metal and all.”

He strode forward and immediately the air grew heavy and dense around him. There was the sense of tremendous energy agitating particles and eventually plasma flared to life in Zakki’s hands and he began to concentrate it on the metal. The surface began to glow hotter and hotter as the lanky young man bombarded it with orbs of impossibly hot plasma. Eventually a hole began to form and the intense heat melted even the thickest steel. The metal fell down into pools of slag as the slim young man turned his face away from the heat. Eventually the opening was large enough to get all of them through and Zakki swept his arm out in a gesture of mock politesse.


“After you, General.”

[193/862]
 

OssumBunz

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The area that the small group had come to painted a vivid picture of what had occurred here some time ago. Numerous bodies lay strewn about the corridor, twisted and mauled in all fashions. Their moments of death each preserved in the cold, dimly lit room, almost as if a warning had been laid out for them to find.

A face caught Sachiko's attention, that of a man laying not five feet from her with his mouth hung open in an eternal scream. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of the two blank eye sockets seemingly gazing up at her, waiting for the help that never came. Shakily, the young woman raised the AUG up to shine her tactical flashlight at the corpse's name tag, but with a deep sigh she lowered the weapon once more. The name had been too far to even make out and she didn't want to move any closer to get to know the deceased.

The Chairman's voice reached her ears, drawing her attention back to the group once more. There the well dressed man stood, arm extended towards the door that had melted through. This man looked to be amusing himself just fine in this creepy place, at least someone was.
 

Several Zombies

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Masato gave the Cerberus Chairman a curt nod as he stepped past, one hand futilely attempting to waft away the caustic fumes emanating from what remained of the security door, while the other rested calmly on the revolver stowed at his hip, ready to be drawn at a moment's notice.

Amber eyes peered around the darkened room, illuminated only by the flashlights of the agents behind him and the various blinking status lights on the security console. Food wrappers and empty tins were strewn around the area. In one of the corners, a few shredded scraps of fabric were thrown over the cold steel floor, presumably for sleeping on. In front of the console sat a number of chairs placed in a haphazard circle, all vacant save for one.

The gunslinger's frown deepened as he approached, scoffing audibly at the scene. The skeletal remains of a single man sat slumped in the chair, a clear bullet hole punched into the side of his skull, decaying fingers still wrapped tightly around the handle of a older model Gravekeeper. So far as the General could tell, he was the only occupant. The bastard had holed himself up in here with all of the bases emergency rations and left the rest to die. When it became clear that help was not coming, he'd taken the coward's way out.

"Alright," the gunslinger grunted, toppling the chair with a kick of his boot and sending the remains crashing unceremoniously to the floor. "...Let's get to work. Fletcher, the package." he barked, gesturing for the spy to join him. Jogging over, the MI5 agent produced a small box from the confines of his parka, entrusted to him by the General before their departure. Taking the brushed steel container from Caleb, Masato eyed the APACHE insignia stamped on the top curiously before removing his glove and pressing his thumb against a small biometric reader on the device's side. With a few confirmatory beeps, the box split open with a satisfying click, revealing a quintet of rectangular devices -- clearly electronic in nature -- packed neatly around a larger, central apparatus.

"Here's the deal," Masato began, removing the larger device from its housing and turning towards the security console. "...The data on the servers is heavily encrypted, and the system set up in such a way that any unlawful attempts to procure the information renders all of it corrupt; one misstep could scrub the whole database. APACHE was kind enough to provide us with an intrusion suite to deal with the security measures, but there's a catch..."

Wasn't there always?

"...The main point of incursion is here, but we also need to run localized instances to retrieve the data compartmentalized on each of the four server hubs. This thing'll hold the door open for us..." Masato breathed, tapping the bulbous device in his grasp. "...But we've still got to get to the physical access points if we want to take whats inside."

Opening the larger device like a clamshell, the General began to pull a number of thick cables from the gadget, methodically connecting each of them to the odd proprietary ports on the console. Thumping the final one in roughly with a disgruntled sigh, the gunslinger turned back to his comrades, distributing the subsidiary hardware to them.

"Based on what APACHE's briefed me on, the intrusion'll need to be simultaneous, meaning we need to get each of these things plugged in to each of the server nodes before the program can begin mining for data. Once you've got them connected, it'll take'em about fifteen minutes to tear through security and get to what we need. I don't think I need to tell you that this can't be interrupted."

Taking the last silvery trinket from the box and sliding it into his duster pocket, the gunslinger let out another frustrated breath.

"Unfortunately it means we've got to split up to get the job done. Once we lift the lockdown, we should be able to navigate the base freely. I'll pull up the schematics so we can figure out where each of us need to be, but after that, we'll be on our own. Once everyone's in position, we can start the process remotely."

Amber eyes peered at each of his allies, meeting their gazes with a stern look of determination and confidence. They could do this.

"We still don't know what happened here. Stay on your toes people."

Tapping a few buttons on the security console, a number of warning flashed. Squelching them, the General pressed on. A scant few keystrokes was all it took to lift the lockdown. Slowly, the lights began to thrum back to life. Thumps and rumbles echoed through the steel substructure of the base as the main generators came back online.

That wasn't so hard.

A burst of static screeched through the security booth. Sachiko flinched unintentionally, covering her ears as the noise bellowed out of the console's speakers. Masato and Caleb both drew their weapons on instinct, rounding their gleaming barrels on the source of the disturbance. Even Zakki had snapped to the ready, burning orbs of plasma floating just above his outstretched palms.

As the static began to die down, a garbled voice could be heard.

"--his is Orph--utpost 312-b. Code Bl-- I repeat, Code Black! Do not approach the facility."

Gunfire could be heard in the background, the signature tat-tat of a M15 Tombstone on full auto.

"Shit. Hold the line! Keep them away from those barricades!" a distant voice could be heard yelling. Another crackle of static sounded as the first man came back into focus.

"We have a containment breach in the biolabs. Some sort of contagion was released. The scientists are--"

More gunfire rattled through the speakers, louder this time.

"Goddamnit!" the first voice bellowed. "Do not approach the facility! I repeat, do not approach. We're initiating full lockdown procedures. Demolitions teams have been sent to the internal supports, we're going to blow the beams and drop the station into the glacier! Do not approach!"

A few shots rattled off, followed by something screeching; a gurgling, guttural, inhuman cry that sent chills up Masato's spine, followed by a string of muffled curses.

"God help us all."

The transmission cut back to static before being squelched, leaving those in the security booth standing in silence.

Reiatsu flared as Masato's post-human power manifested, the gleaming form of Sanzoku snapping together around his raised revolver, quickly accompanied by its twin as the agent drew the second firearm.

Things had just become complicated.

So the facility isn't locked down anymore, but that means whatever was locked up is also free to roam around. More vexing is that we now have to split up to access each of the four server nodes simultaneously, and allow APACHE's intrusion program time to do its thing.

Each of you will be given a 'schematic' via Gdocs showing your current location, your destination, and the layout of the base. What it won't show you is any obstacles or hindrances you might encounter on your way. It's up to each of you what route you take to get to your assigned server, and how you tackle any problems you run into. You'll be able to mark down your routes on the maps as you move, and if desired, see other's progress.

What's important to note here is that everyone needs to be at their server before we can run the APACHE program, and once its started, we'll have to wait out the time it takes to do its thing, which could mean any number of things depending on how each of you choose to get to where you need to be.

*evil laugh*
 
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Nargles

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The sudden escalation of Masato into his post-human state signaled the stakes of the mission. It was the first time he saw the gunslinger approach something with such seriousness since infiltrating Orpheus. The sniper smirked, after all this did make for a nice change of pace. He was starting to think the rumors about the organization were simply overhyped.

The silence following the last recorded message hung around the room, a foreboding signal for things to come. For all they knew, the very same contamination that had ruined the base could still be waiting in the maze that was outpost. He had seen monsters that seemed to transcend time after all, a few decades were simply a few seconds to them.

Tightening his grasp around the Noblesse, he gazed down at the map that was sent to his communicator. It was far to the east, in sublevel. He turned, eyeing the door that would quickly lead him out of the room. His reiatsu emanated out in small waves, his existence vanishing once again.

“Well then, time to survive a plague,” he said. With an affirming nod to all involved, he disappeared in a blur of motion.

Within milliseconds he entered the outside hallway, striking a balance between speed and stealth. His footsteps were light, little more than a faint ring echoing from the metal floor. However, the speed he moved was breakneck, as he traversed down the hallway towards a nearby room. The MI5 agent checked the map once again, a small circular room catching his attention. The turncoat traced the path from there to a nearby staircase. His second obligation was to Orpheus. It was time to indulge in his first.

Diverting at a nearby fork, Caleb Fletcher turned north.
 
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MoonlitRain014

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The level of intensity in the air had grown much deeper and heavier around Zakki once he'd received the map from Masato. Now they were venturing into the unknown and if he hadn't had the experiences of his past at Cerberus to fall back on, he would have been utterly terrified. Now he merely felt his body flood with adrenalin as he manifested the starry cloak of radiant energy that would protect and guard him. He began to move into the facility, scanning each doorway as he proceeded first west and then north up the corridor. So far, he couldn't sense any unusual thanatoresonance or feel anything around him. He suspected that would be changing before he was quite comfortable with what was going on. Now he paused at the corner, wondering what he'd see as he changed direction again and moved further north towards whatever awaited them.

[148/1010]
 

K3

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The corridors flew past Caleb in a flash, the blur of a corner he turned only briefly revealing a hunched form before he was past it. He pulled up short in the room, a low sound catching his attention.

Lights flickered as the generators attempted to warm themselves. Shadows caught on the walls, drenching a figure huddled in the corner in darkness. Curled into as tight a ball as it could managed, soft sobs quietly issued from it - the dirty brown of dried blood caking its hands and lower legs. His hands and legs.

A low groan sounded behind him, a gurgling sound that sounded almost strangled. His speed, though it did not betray his presence, had disturbed the once stale air of the facility. The sound of something being dragged carried into the room from the hallway he had come through, seeming to slowly leave.

...

...

Zakki's trek was cut similarly short. His feet struck lightly against the steel-tile flooring, a tik-tak that seemed to echo back at him. A disgusting shade of brown decorated a section of wall, before the barest traces of red seemed to trail away to the corner of an intersection. Paying it no mind, he moved on.

He heard it before he saw it, a small alcove on the other side of the hallway intersection containing a fire safety station - barren and with broken glass strewn about the grating floor that would channel any flooded water - and the faint sound of something around the bend.

Peeking around, he almost flinched reflexively. Two figures hunched over a prone third, the sound of ripping and chewing unmistakable. The first raised an arm that been peeled away, revealing a pair of sharpened bones that seemed to clack like a pincer with the careless movements. The second had lost some portion of its face - her face, if the long mop of brown hair meant anything - and stared blankly from around an empty left eye socket.

A pulsating tumor dripped from her chest, just above her breasts, almost the size of a baseball. An odious smell struck him, and the sound of something being dragged reached his ears. Casting a wary glance backwards, a third figure was approaching down the hallway slowly. Dragging a body of undeterminable nature behind it, Zakki realized belatedly the corpse had been decapitated... messily.

Stopping their meal briefly, the male of the two hunched figures raised a deformed head - protruded and angular - and made a wheezing noise. It was attempting to sniff him out..!

[ 428 / 428 ]
 
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Nargles

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Reactively, the agent drew the Noblesse, carefully scanning the room. He turned, pointing the weapon towards the source of the sobs, before rapidly pivoting back towards the source of the dragging noise. His breathing slowed, controlled from years of training. He stepped closer to the sobbing figure, one that seemed to not have noticed his presence. Keeping a safe distance he attempted to get as clear of a picture as he could.

It was... breathing? No, that would be giving it a bit too much credit. Choking, stiff gasps was closer to the truth, as if it was in a persistent state of near death. It appeared... almost human... almost. While he wanted to move nearer, analyze closer, he knew very well that it was most likely suicide. He contemplated firing a single shot and putting the miserable creature out of its misery, but knew how ridiculous the action would be. The last message rang through his head, as his eyes looked up towards the moving shadows.

God save you all? he lowered his weapon, Sorry, I’m not the god you’re looking for.

Any attempt to use his communicator would betray his position, a liability he wasn’t willing to take at the moment. He calmed his rising anxiety once more. Caleb turned towards southern exit, checking the map on his phone once again. It wasn’t the most direct path, but a longer route would allow him to scope out the facility a bit more.

With another blur, the sniper faded from view in a burst of speed.
 

MoonlitRain014

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Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding. Zombies? Really? There didn’t appear to be any other explanation at the moment but there wasn’t enough time to consider this any more deeply. Unless he wanted to end up like the headless guy on the floor, he’d better do something before they chowed down on him as well. As they tried to acquire his position, he decided that a proactive approach was best.

All of the tremendous radiation emanating from his skinny frame began to violently bombard the particles that surrounded him until they formed superheated plasma orbs. As the orbs were formed, the lanky Chairman of Cerberus let them fly. The searing orbs first collided with the attacking creature that was male, burning into his flesh. Now Zakki turned his attention to the female zombie and sent another volley of blazing plasma in her direction. As all of the orbs struck home, the lean young man began to wonder how much tissue damage it would take to stop these things. Images of the head laying on the ground kept dancing across his brain. He really, really didn’t want to end up like that.

Orbs continued to erupt from him as he tried to ensure that his brains didn’t end up as one of these thing’s meals. Burning was supposed to work against them, wasn’t it?

[224/1234]
 

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