Nerrone's Rangers IC [Thread 1]

As the beast above Kaaran finally finished flailing, Kaaran recovered his senses, and crawled out from under the beasts corpse to assess the damage, he had come off fairly lightly, although his left leg had a fair number of quills protruding from it, which made moving Slow and painful, but otherwise he was fine, He found his rocket launcher and pulled it out from under the insectoid, and wiped his blood out of his eyes. The others were all fighting the creatures furiously, and Kaaran drew his pistol, and advanced slowly towards the insectoids, ready to attack.

Chalen's shot ricocheted off the tough carapace on the back of the creature attacking Dagon, leaving behind a black scorch mark, but not managing to penetrate anything vital. Using the distraction to his advantage, Dagon brought the butt of his rifle to bear on what passed for his assailant's face, sending it staggering backwards, slightly stunned.

Before Team B could reply, 'Cuna jumped down from above and attempted to knock out the guard

Celdryc kept up his fire on the insectoids, trying his best to help out Dagon, who was being swarmed.
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IO was about to give up on his lie and attack, when something came out of the sky and attacked the guards. Seeing that no one else was paying attention to the scene but the guards, he was about to make a getaway with team B, but knew he couldn't just leave behind whoever had just helped them. Instead, he opened fire at the guards during the confusion, without waiting for Xol to give the command.

Celdryc's shots finished off the dazed creature that had attacked Dagon, and the hulking arthropod fell twitching to the ground.

By now, the other three insectoids approaching from the right had closed the distance, and launched themselves at Team A.
"Watch your back Celdryc!" Dagon called — he had been left slightly breathless by his close encounter, but it would take nothing less than a severed limb or a really bad hangover to stop him getting back on his feet and returning to the fray.
In a series of precise movements he pulled loose a spent ammo clip from his rifle and loaded another, each motion accompanied by a metallic snap; a sequence ground into him since basic training that he now performed with an eerie mechanical efficiency. Lock and load.
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"What the—" The Guard Sergeant was knocked to the ground by 'Cuna's attack, stunned but not disabled thanks to his armour. His three flunkies scattered. Their routine patrol had suddenly taken a turn for the worse.

"What in Spode's name is that thing?" Another guard said, to no-one in particular, shortly before taking a blow to the chest from IO's weapon. He staggered backwards, flailing his arms in a vain attempt to try and regain his balance. His movement carried him to the waist-high railing that bordered Concourse Alpha — and over the side.

It was a long way down.

Meanwhile, the two guards that remained standing attempted to take down their unexpected assailant — the first swung a baton in a wide arc towards 'Cuna's head while the other stood back, attempting to line up a shot with his pistol without hitting either his superior officer, who was struggling to get back to his feet, or his more brazen comrade.

'Cuna immediately grabbed the guard's baton and flung it out of his hand, smacking it against the guard struggling to get to his feet. Then 'Cuna turned to try and slap the pistol from the last guard's hand

(Sorry if this seemed a bit god=mod-ish, but you can do whatever you want about the text in blue)

The last guard flinched as 'Cuna's arm whipped out, and he let loose a wild burst of shots from his pistol before the weapon was knocked from his grasp — it clattered to the concrete floor of Concourse Alpha, close to the vertigo-inducing drop his comrade had fallen foul of mere moments ago.

The other guard, now relieved of his baton, reached out to try and grab 'Cuna's arms from behind.

Celdryc turned around, but was knocked to the ground by the creature before he could fire at it. These things are smarter than I had hoped. They aren't relying on sight to track us, or else they wouldn't be able to find me so easily thought Celdryc, as he used his rifle to bar the way between him and the insect. IN a risky move, ha let go of the rifle with one hand, drew one of his daggers, and stabbed right at the center of the creature's head.

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IO fired directly at the guard that was trying to grab 'Cuna, while staying wary of the shots fired by the other guard.

A bullet whizzed past 'Cuna's arm, giving her a largish cut, but it would only be about an hour of pain before the cells stitched themselves up. "Gah!" 'Cuna yelled, hitting the now dis-armed guard who almost shot her. A few down, a few to go, but this time 'Cuna didn't react as quick as she could, the first pain she ever experienced was distracting her, while another guard tried attacking.

The creature pinning down Celdryc pushed against his weakened grip, reaching out to tear his face to shreds with its mandibles — and met the dagger coming the other way. The creature gurgled pathetically, its throat pierced, and collapsed like a sack of potatoes on top of Celdryc.

Two more of the creatures remained — both of them bore down on the group, mere meters from Kaaran and Dagon.
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IO's shot caught the guard behind 'Cuna in the shoulder — his armour was just thick enough to deflect the blow, but the force from the blast was more than enough to spin him around, putting him off-balance for a few precious moments and tracing a wide, black scorch mark across his bright orange shoulder-pads.

'Cuna's blow caught the now-unarmed guard under his chin — unlike his superior officer, he was not wearing a helmet — and he fell backwards, out cold.

((The one IO just attacked is now the only one left standing.))

Flank knew things about desperation. His 4 million spuck military bonus and his private attack craft had been variously stolen, gambled or lost and he needed to pay rent. Two hours ago he heard that marrow from the exo-skeleton of the leg of an insect had just become valuable. He didn't care why. But he knew just where to find some really good insects.

They have to be here somewhere... He thought to himself. He was wading in some kind of liquid; he didn't want to think about it. He could taste the stale air as he inhaled it. He was hunting down the insectoids who's marrow was going to pay for his apartment rent for the next two weeks. Provided he could keep most of its limbs intact, he would be able to scoop it out into a plastic bag and sell it at the bazaar for 20 spucks a kilo.

He became alert to the sound of gunfire. It was far down the tunnel he was wading through, but from the right tunnel of a four-way intersection. He heard insects wailing.

Great. Now someone else is hunting them...
He hurried along, his FLAK cannon bared and ready. Things were about to get desperate.

Chalen fired again at the remaining creatures. No blasts came out of his weapon. That last shot only left bad burns on one of the attackers which Dagon used the oppertunity to get back up and fire. The creatures were closing in on both Dagon and Kaaran. Even if they still have some ammo left, they might or might not make it. Unless..."Oy Beasty!" This time Beasty looked up and saw it's so called *friends* about to finish off Dagon and Kaaran. "Do something about those bugs!" Chalen shouted as loud as he could for Beasty to hear. Beasty jumped off from the dead body, landed with a minor thud and screamed before running at high speed for one last body slamming attack. Chalen was wise to get out of the charging Beasty's way. He hoped the others kept shooting at the attackers until Beasty got them or things won't go well.

'Cuna heard the shot, swiftly spun around, and the moment she saw the last guard standing, she attempted to hit him against the open electrical panel Quark had been tampering with

(Yes, I mentioned Quark for the first time in awhile)

Celdryc quickly got up, and saw the third insect charging to Dagon and Karaan to join the other two, but did not see Chalen command it. So he fired straight at its head with his rifle, aiming to either distract the beast to give Dagon and Karaan a fair fight, or kill it altogether.

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IO fired at the guard 'Cuna had hit to push him into the panel, but injure him as well if he missed the open panel.

((About time Lazer, geez. I mean, you'd think Quark would have noticed 'Cuna by now :P))

"Ugh my head" groaned Naboo9 as he lifted his head off of his pillow on his bed on the Lacuna. All he could remember was getting hit in the back of the head "So why, or how, in Spode's name am I here?" he thought. Naboo9 quickly shrugged of the thoughts and rolled of his bed and checked himself for inguries. While he checked him self he noticed nothing was taken. He shrugged and took some headache medicine to stave off any pain that my come. Naboo9 wandered into the control room. "Hey Kwa." the Dark Leech said.

Flank arrived at the intersection and peered around the corner. The light, or rather the lack of, did not help him paint a clear picture with the robotic eye embedded in his chest. He did however make out two individuals (who he suspected were more hunters) being approached by two of the insectoids, and a third beast wildly charging. Whether it was charging at the rival hunters or at their approaching insectoids he could not tell. There was too much movement to land a shot at one of them, so he had to get close enough to kill it by hand.

A brief flash of light revealed several other insect corpses lying in the disgusting liquid. That left only three insects left. He would have to kill one quickly.
The charging insectoid seemed to be the most preoccupied of the three and would make for an easier kill.
OK. On three.
One...
Two...
THREE!
Flank shot off the mark and sprinted along the pipe towards the charging insectoid as fast as his legs could carry him through the foul liquid. He bared his clawed hands, ready to grab his rent.

"Well well well," Kwa replied as Naboo entered the cockpit, looking up from the catalogue she had been reading with an expression of mild surprise, "I thought you might have skipped out on us in Santa Frerraro. Can't say it would be the first time someone's quit without warning — I try not to take it personally. Catching up on some sleep, were you?"
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The last guard fell backwards, straight onto the panel as 'Cuna had planned. There was a blinding flash of white light followed shortly by the smell of burnt hair and fabric. The unfortunate guard jerked like a ragdoll, just once, before keeling over and hitting the ground with a distinct *thud*.

All four of the guards had now been put out of action, one way or another. It was fortunate indeed that this was one of the few quiet parts of the Engineering District.

A shot was heard somewhere in the pipe tunnels. A blaster shot came out at such speed that Beasty couldn't see and the blaster shot embedded deep into it's good leg. Beasty yowled and before it could try stop, it tripped and missed the other insectiods. Chalen was shocked. Where de heck did bullet came from? Chalen thought. Chalen ran to Beasty. He inspected the fallen bug. A nasty wound was found on it's leg and it was spurting out blood. Beasty was no doubt dying and there was nothing Chalen could do. "P-Please don't leave us B-Beasty! Even though we hardly knew each other, It felt we acted like team didn't it?" Chalen tried to fight back his tears as he stroked Beasty's face. Unlike most of the other Nerrone Ranger members, he was the most emotional person. Beasty stared at Chalen with it's beady eyes and growled softly in agreement. Beasty then touched Chalen with it's soft feelers in turn. Beasty's eyes started to close slowly and then dies. Chalen dropped onto his knees and sobbed. However he momentary forgot that the others were still being ganged up on by the last two insectiods. Chalen got to his feet and checked if he was able to fly. The wings seem to be working right and Chalen flew upwards. Your death won't be in vain Chalen whisperd. Chalen is now steaming mad and shouted a powerful battle cry at the other insectiods. "Graghhh!" Chalen dived at the attackers.

"Not really, I was with you at the city," Nsboo9 said "but I got knocked out by someone who snuck up nehind me when I was taking a shortcut through an allyway. Next thing I know I'm here, and nothing was take" Naboo9 shrugged after this.

In the cockpit, Kwa frowned and swiveled around in the pilot seat to face Naboo, setting aside her catalogue — she had decided that though an orbital cannon would certainly be useful, not to mention fun, the prices these companies asked for were simply ridiculous.

"That is... troubling." She paused, "but right now we have a mission to concentrate on — the Rangers have been commissioned to infiltrate and sabotage the city of Las Thaddas. We have two teams on the ground as we speak: Team A is making their way through an old pipe network to take out a weak-point in the coolant system, and Team B is progressing through the Engineering District to make sure they won't be able to use their back-up systems once the bombs go off. The full briefing is in the holo-player over there." She motioned towards the living area, where the holo-screen stood dormant, a disc containing Kwa's plan inserted into it.

"If you want to help, I might be able to drop you off with one of the groups; it's a pain, but we might benefit from the extra manpower in the long run."

((Out of interest, are you going anywhere with Naboo's mysterious incapacitation, or do you plan to forget about it now you're back on board?))

Bor frowed into the sensors. "Kwa? Some of the alien biosigns near Team A have vanished. I'm also reading intermittent energy discharges...possibly weapons fire. Somebody's fighting down there, but all the electrical interference is screwing with my sensors. I can't get any detailed readings on them. I'm reading similar discharges near Team B, but they might be natural. I don't know.

"Wait, the discharges around Team B have stopped."

Xol regained his composure after a quick lapse of concentration.

"IO, good work." He turned to Quark. "I assume this is the project that you tried hard to cover up. You didn't do a very good job. Fill her in on the mission and we can get moving." He turned to face the rest of Team B.

"Quark and Feren, try to find a computer or terminal than can be used to hack into the flight system. Give us the data when we need it. I'll be performing recon on the lower levels from here with the Zeafly. Everyone else, incapacitate any threats that might present themselves."

Kwa cocked her head to listen as Bor gave his report: it was mixed news.

"Alright, well at least we know Team A isn't face-down in its own entrails. We'll not be able to get a decent comm signal until they come out of those pipes — which with any luck, they will eventually."

Team B's situation was more of a surprise — she hadn't expected fireworks to erupt so soon. The Engineering District, however, was within comms range:

"Come in Team B," she broadcast, "What is your current situation?"
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One of the two remaining insectoids in the pipes was more than a little surprised to find itself jumped at by the diminutive but angry form of Chalen, and flinched backwards as the space sprite closed the distance between them.

The other, however, ignored Chalen completely and continued sprinting forwards on its six legs, closing in on where the rest of Team A was stood.

Xol replied to Kwa, "This is Xol. Team B has encountered mild resistance on the lower levels of the Engineering District, but we've sorted it out."


The Selthem had said this a little too loudly, and his voice echoed through the large room, reaching the ears of three workers. They had been working all day on the machinery that populated the facility, and the sight and sound of intruders was not a pleasant one. They belonged to the Engineering Guild Militia; they were all that stood between these intruders and possible systems malfunction.

One of them, a towering Aegraa with a robotic eye, stood up and grabbed a flamethrower pack from the wall. He fitted himself with a gasmask, shouldered two fuel tanks that much have each weighed a couple hundred pounds, and finally picked up the flamethrower itself. Its age was apparent, with lines of grease dripping across its seams. The menacing figure began marching towards Team B, his footsteps reverberating over the metal flooring.

The other two workers, Armodies, hopped off their chairs and scuttled to the shadows, one of them finding a large wrench, the other settling for a plasma cutter as a weapon. Their Xenon-filled suits already worked as a form of body armor, but a shot to the gas tank on their back would leave them incapacitated.

((You can refer to these enemies as the worker with the flamethrower, the worker with the wrench, and the worker with the plasma cutter.))

Chalen furiously clawed at the insectiod while avoiding the sharp pincers and whatever else it could throw at him. Chalen expertly dodge while still flying, pulling off arial skills to that of a jet. "Raarrghhh!" Chalen bombdived onto it's head and drove his clawhand right through the insectiod's head. It yowled terribly and crumpled onto the ground. Chalen slowly retracted his clawhand..dripping with blood. He looked at it and silently prayed. That was for Beasty and that must be the most disgusting (but epic!) thing I ever done. Chalen wasen't sure if he was able to save the others from the final insectiod. Chalen had to try or they'll be pushing up daises from the ground..damp ground.