"Not a fan of lasers?" He joked before turning his attention to the available pistols. "I think I have something right here." He handed her something he thought might come of use "Can shoot armor piercing as well."
Elisa took the pistol, inspecting it. It was definitely a rather...interesting weapon, but it seemed to serve its purpose as a gun. The weapons of her world were antiquated, with her military still using refurbished or updated firearms from 2009. The aesthetic wasn't there, but the general idea was. A simple sidearm that can shoot bullets, wonderful!
"Lasers..." She thought, running the word through her mind a bit. Laser technology was a thing for naval forces, impressed at the thought of miniaturized versions of such weapons meant for infantry use. Anythings possible, now that she knows of the infinite realities.
"I think that will be all. Now, how do I put that suit on..." She sets the pistol down, before looking up at the suit of armor. "...More importantly, does it have a hole for a tail?" She sheepishly asked, as the fluffy tail in question gently waves back in forth behind her. It looked like it was ripe for touching.
"Well..." Santoro found the question odd, but given Elisa's nature, it made sense. "The suit can be modified to allow for an extra 'utility' need. Lets go back to my desk so I can make the changes." They walked back to his desk where Santoro began to enter something into the console. "Should be a minute or two. One of Moira's drones should carry it over."
Elaine at the mean time had grabbed Slerk as he jumped, nearly dropping him due to all the extra weight from his new armor. She carried him over to Santoro's desk and placed him in front of the console, after that she started talking to the little boy
"Listen Slerk. You're gonna go with Prax in a place where I cant go. But the nice lady next to me is going to go with you." She pointed to Elisa "Be a good boy and listen to what she and the rest of the grown ups tell you and when you get back you'll get a reward, ok?"
---
"Oh of course. Let me just grab both the files for you and Cama." Stephen opened up a file on their counterparts "Kine Kvale. Parents weren't fans of the Nazi occupants, nor was she after they got disposed off. She has a significant following of people in the nearby village armed with stolen weapons, so you might be able to muster up some help. She hasn't devoted much to her personal life in years due to the ongoing struggle, so don't count on romance."
"Now Cama, your counterpart is named Helmunt Elser. Veteran from the second world war that got the upgraded to an Über. We know of him and three others in located in the area. His special ability is enchanced strength and endurance. Tanks have a hard time stopping him. But remember, you're not invulnerable. At some point, something is gonna give."
Elisa follows along with Santoro. She figures that with the influx of species here, a small change here or there to cater for the person is fine. Although she feels more like an annoyance than anything.
She bows to Santoro, thanking him for the assistance, before hearing Elaine speak to the baby fish. She points to Elisa, and tells the walking fish to listen to her and everyone else. She's never had pups before, so this is...new. She gives the fish a gentle smile and a wave to reassure him.
Slerk listened intently as Elaine explained what to do, and thanks to the translator in the suit he was able to understand for the most part. He gave a nod of a semi-understanding nature before turning to Elisa and squealing in excitement.
Elisa giggles at the fish baby. Would he even know how to fight? He sure is adorable, but, she doubts the enemies she's going to fight will care much for their opponents amount of cuteness. She's definitely not a mother, and wouldn't know the first thing about caring for a child (or a fish), so she'll have to find ways on how to shirk off the duty of parenting to someone else while the team is out on a mission...
"He sure is cute," she says, "I just hope that armor will last." She makes note of the rather snugly fit armor he's wearing. She resisted everything to not go 'awww' and pet the fish. It was only a natural response.
Teksis had been gravely mistaken when it came to the rules of this trial. But, not wanting to embarrass himself as a captain, he remained quiet and let things roll along without objecting.
"I'm really sorry for loading him off on you like this." Elaine told Elisa "But he look happy enough around you at least."
"Mhm." Santoro added "One last thing. Don't worry if you bring anything back broken." He said with a slight smile to reassure the two "Just make sure you bring it back. Can't have your gear polluting space and time now."
---
Stephen, Cama and Shazraya exited the elevator and entered the last stop before the jump into another reality. The portal room was another example of the impossible space at work as it housed the arch of a large gateway where they would have to step though. Around it, there were many technicians and security personnel moving around all over the place performing various tasks. They passed by Prax talking to the other commander, both having their backs turned to them.
"So. Your team is going to split up?"
"Only slightly and you're going be the one benefiting from it."
"I figured. I have one of my own that has a counterpart in the lab itself. He's going to try and get the formula to you guys and the commandos" Barret looked over the map of the base. The proximity of the barracks to the lab building was what worried him and Prax the most. "A giant monster of a man will do wonders causing havoc behind enemy lines and if your team mate can muster in additional help. Less chance of us getting split that way."
"Remember, Barret. My team needs your support as much as you need theirs. Keep them alive!" Prax sounded serious. Barret just gave him an annoyed glare.
The trio continued on to the gateway before stopping. Stephen turned to talk to both of them. The portal was loud enough to make him raise his voice so he can be heard.
"Since you chose to take control of your counterparts, you will be going in first. The team will be jumping right after you, but you're all going to exit at your locations at around the same time. Commander Barret's man already went though and is working on securing the formula. I'll be monitoring you on this side from the mission room downstairs. My advice for your first jump is to take a deep breath and just go through. Just like learning to swim." He looked towards the gate as it was prepared for the jump. The technician gave him a thumbs up to signal all clear "Shaz, you try to work the locals into a fury as best as you can. Cama, as soon as the shooting starts, show them why they should watch their backs." With that said, he stepped out of their way and invited them to go through. "Good luck!"
The duo walked though the portal. The light enveloped them as they went though. Engulfing their senses in white noise and static. The relief was soon to follow as the sensation overload dissipated to reveal where they ended up.
Back on the Citadel, the rest of the team arrived along with Checkers. Stephen gave them the same advice on how to proceed on their first jump. The difference was only that the team would be somewhere together. They watched Barret's group walk though the portal with some confidence.
"It's now or never." Prax turned to them before going though the portal followed by Checkers. The rest were close behind.
---
"Kine..." His voice was trembling. "What are we going to do?" Shazraya looked at the man next to her and then around the room. There were a good two dozen people in what seemed to be a basement. Some of them armed with some sort of weapon, others, no such luck. Above them she could hear heavy boot steps going back and forth. She wasn't entirely sure, but it sounded like it was 4 or 5 men upstairs. Possibly more nearby. The language they spoke was foreign, but she understood a good amount of it, to understand that those men above were military. They were tearing the building apart looking for something.
It didn't take long to realize that this was a resistance safe-house that was being raided. The man next to her and everyone else was part of said resistance.
"Kine, please. What do we do?" If she was going to make a decision, now was the time.
---
The air was cold, the sky was blue with a small formation of clouds in the distance and the lieutenant was stomping around inspecting the state of the troops. His face mask covers his initial confusion of until everything clicks together for Cama. Hes in the body of his counterpart and he could feel everything through this body. Including something he initially thought was a discomfort brought by the weather. It took a few seconds to realize that was not the case as more spots on his body started to ache. His eyes went wide as he realized in just how much permanent pain Helmunt was in when he realized that in order to support this his massive frame, his skeleton had been reinforced surgically. And whoever those doctors were, they were a step above butchers.
"Übersoldad Helmunt?" The lieutenant spoke to him "I've been told that you have trouble with your medication. Specifically, you've are been having your dosage nearly doubled over the past year." He turned his ghoulish face slowly to face Cama. If he had seen a similar look in the man's eyes somewhere else before was sure to be a painful memory, as there was not even a hint of humanity in them. Cold, calculating and analizing him as if he was some test animal. "Simply put, you're getting old. Something that is unavoidable with old models like yourself." He talked in a cold nearly monotone voice "But fear not Helmunt. Your sacrifice and deeds have paved the way for the Reich to take what is rightfully ours and you shall be remembered as a hero for the next thousand years as your name is etched on the monument in Berlin." Cama could tell that this was rehearsed and it was done badly. The lieutenant wasn't even trying "But until the day comes for you to be retired, you will still serve." He turned his gaze to two soldiers standing on either of his side "Take him to the medbay and give him his medicine." The piercing blue eyes looked Cama "Let's make his last run comfortable."
---
The team had been transported on a ridge overlooking the base and the laboratory below. Checkers took the opportunity to scout, while Prax made sure they were all there.
"Everyone is accounted for." Prax said after making a headcount of everyone present. Nobody got lost of stuck somewhere. "How are things down there?"
"I'm seeing Barret's team moving into position." Checkers could see them move through her binoculars "Commando team just took out a nazi patrol and are sneaking through." She tried to locate any of the counterparts. Shaz was nowhere to be seen, but she could locate a large Über in the base. Whether that was Cama, was unclear.
"And the Outsider agent?"
"No sign of him." She kept scanning the area "You ask me, he's going to show up when the fun begins to cause some real damage."
"Then we draw him out." Prax tapped the communication device on his wrist to signal that they had deployed on the field. "You stay here and provide cover fire. The rest, you're with me. Barret's team is going to start the show soon and we need to get good seats."
Cama might've been a super-soldier already, but the half-finalized process used to enhance him was far, far better than whatever the hell these people did. The so-called doctors that modified him really were indeed a mere step above butchers as Cama could feel all the twisted mutilations they had done to his body. His bones had been stretched out with some sort of metal scaffolding connecting them and functioning as some form of support between the gaps. Certain organs were absent from within his torso and in their place was the cold feeling of metal wires and boxes running through his innards like parasites in a host. The metal exo-suit he'd been merged with weighed down upon him so much that it was a battle to remain standing still and not be crushed by it. And his eyes, oh dear god, his eyes. There's only two of them now, and his field of view became so diminished that he had to snap his eyes shut for a moment just to avoid becoming nauseous. All of it makes him wonder just how in the hell did these people win the greater world war with soldiers in perpetual agony like this? He was so caught up in the pain, he almost didn't notice the officer speaking to him.
Serve until he's 'retired', he says? Not the first time he's heard that. Though it seems they've got medicine lined up for him to ease the pain. With what he's feeling, he doesn't even waste a second in stepping forward, waiting for the guards to lead him to the medical bay. He could seriously use some morphine right now.
Sanford and Molly entered through this strange portal thingy, as the team leader Checkers will be leading them. The mercenary equipped several handy weapons: a lightweight magnum pistol, an assault rifle and an extendable melee blade on his left wrist. Molly opted to wear the EED(Elite Expeditionary Division) field outfit and a backpack she had on ever since she entered the Citadel. They found themselves in an unknown environment, air was cold and they saw what area they needed to tackle first. The synthetic stared at the sky in awe, scanning the environment for hazards such as dust or acid rain. But so far nothing. 1951, Norway. Not 2168, United States. Molly lowered her head, looking at her gloved hands to see if she changed. Nothing.
Sanford slung his rifle to the side, turning to Molly who seemed a bit weird. 'Was the girl on drugs or something?' Sanford thought.
Molly placed the helmet inside her utility backpack, she won't be needing that right now. And so both heard what Prax said, giving him a nod to know they were following.
Teddy sighed after they arrived on the ridge, as he nodded in Prax's direction. He calibrated his whole body once more after the portal trip, and gave his hands a looksie before looking back at the others. This was going to be an entirely new experience for him.
Slerk walked close by the bigger people, though mostly he was basically was hanging near Prax and Elisa as instructed by Elaine and stepped into the portal. It felt... weird going through. He wanted to throw up as he arrived in Norway, and was extremely confused about a lot of things. Now there was white powdery stuff everywhere, it made funny noises when he stepped on it. And all this scenery looked so strange that it caused him to whimper a bit as he hugged Elisa's leg for reassurance.
Elisa only had the pleasure of playing in the snow a few times in her life, though the occasion does not permit it now. The teleportation portal was in all honesty a nightmare. Her body felt like it had been torn apart then reconfigured in nanoseconds as she stepped through, though she suspected the others felt it different than she did. A deep, relieved sigh later as she figures out her tail had survived the excursion, and she stands.
The air was cold as she thought it would be, snow crunched like she'd expected it to, and the sky was a bright blue, not unlike the vibrant blue of her home Earth. She momentarily reminisced as she felt the cold air hit her fur, thinking back to all the winters she'd experienced before. Then something clings to her leg, she looks down and finds the armored baby hugging her. She suppresses a giggle, getting down on a knee and patting the baby on the helmet.
"We'll be fine, just think of memories that make you happy and the mission will be over before you know it." She smiled at the little baby, standing up and un-holstering her pistol.
Shazraya- or Kine in this case- looked at the men besides her. Well then, it's not as bad as I thought it'd be.
As the men upstairs continued to tear through the safehouse she looked at her men. "Give me a gun and a knife. I'll try to thin them out. Four of you will come in from behind and finish off whomever is left alive to chase me. Got it?"
While waiting for her orders to be carried out Shazraya continued to pay attention to the movement above. Was there a pattern? Were the men spread out? Any detail she could get her hands on was useful.
"You cannot be serious?" The panting man said in an indignant tone "Kine, we can't risk losing you to..."
"Just give her what she wants Glenn." Another man spoke in an annoyed tone "You know you can't control your sister." He handed her a hunting knife. Glenn was reluctant, but he gave 'Kine' the gun she requested. "There, wasn't so hard now was it?...Come on you big baby. Grab Sven and Dag."
While they were following her orders, Shaz could hear what was going above. Five men. One in the room directly above her. One near the doorway, as a sentry maybe? The other three were thrashing everything they could find by the sound of it. For a second everything was quiet before talking continued. They sounded confused before one of them spoke again. Looks like the one right above her was in charge. The other four continued with their tasks as he seemed to be trying to call someone.
---
Cama was led towards what must be the medical facility. One of the two soldiers inside chose to remain outside, just lighting a cigarette up for himself leaving his comrade to lead the Über inside. That's where he could see what was happening inside. Given his nature and what the others had said so far, no one would blame Cama for expecting the inside of the medical facility to look like a scene from a horror story. Surprisingly, that was not the case. Quite the opposite, the place was almost spotless. A few soldiers had made a stop earlier for some reason or another, but that was about it for today's activity.
"Ahh, Helmunt!" the doctor exclaimed as he saw the giant "Good to see you back. I see it's time for your dose again." He turned to the soldier that came with him "It's quite alright, Helmunt looks scary, but is calm like a kitten when he comes around." He had a certain calming smile to him "Now, let us administer that morphine." Finally some relief. It would be needed for what happened next.
---
The team made their way down the ridge, using trees, rocks and bushes along the way to hide themselves as much as they could. Eventually stopping near the base itself. They could see the side entrance, guarded by five soldiers. Three of them were distracted by the ongoing conversation with each other, another was looking down the road and the last one seemed to have dozed off from the boredom.
"Hold up for a second." Prax got down on one knee and looked at his watch.
--- *CRACK*
The sound of the german's neck giving out didn't make him happy, but gave him a relief. He dragged the corpse behind the corner to avoid detection.
"Colonel." The other commando spoke in a hushed tone "You seeing this? Intel was way off on this." He was right. Someone upstairs among the brass had fucked up. The garrison was twice the size it was reported and there was only one Über reported to be there. Pulling out seemed like the smart move here, but that also meant that he was going to let the nazi bastards go on with their experiment without any interruption. They already jumped through god knows how many hoops to get to here. Airdropping in the night, crawling through mud and snow, jumping on a moving train to enter though the least protected part of the base and nearly getting caught every step of the way. Turning back was not an option.
"Plan hasn't changed. We still have a job to do." He eyed up where the their target. "Even if we can't get what we came for, we have to stall them enough."
"Are you serious? That's suicide. We can't fight any of this..."
"Damn it Dougan! You want to run away go ahead, you know the way we came in, but unlike you I'm not going to let these bastards just run wild however they fucking want." Dougan stared at him for a few seconds before giving up trying to argue his way out of it. There was no point. It looked like the colonel's decision was set.
Then things got more complicated
---
5...4...3...2...1....
The motor pool lid up like a miniature sun as the flames engulfed everything they could and incinerated every person present there to ash. Those not in the near vicinity weren't so lucky as their clothes caught on fire. The screams gave way to gunfire which in turn was drowned out momentarily by the sound of the alarm blaring. Soldiers from all over began to amass towards the source of the disturbance. Some were lucky enough to see their attackers before getting gunned down. Barret's men had made their move and it served them good.
The men at the back entrance were stunned by the sudden turn of events and had turned their backs to the road. That was their first mistake.
Teddy watched the others do their tasks first before finally going in himself, since while the others had ranged weaponry, the only thing he had were his shock absorbent fists. Sure, he has titanium allow reinforced armor, but he isn't entirely someone accustomed to fighting, so he wanted to follow the lead of the others instead.
Slerk could do nothing except freeze in panic as the action began to unfold around him. All this was too much to take in at the moment for him, and so he stood completely still and was breathing rapidly to the point where he was almost hyperventilating.
Elisa wasn't sure of the feeling she had in her stomach, but decided the time for caution is over. Standing up, she un-holsters her pistol, and takes aim at the two tyrants with their backs turned.
She fires two shots, at the both of them, hopefully at the back of their heads. She'd only ever been firing at paper targets, so this was almost exhilarating.
Well that escalated quickly, Sanford thought. He heard Prax give the order, say no more my good friend. His shooting skills were going to be in good use today. Sanford pulled out his magnum pistol, firing three shots against the two guards while Molly assisted by firing a burst fire through her assault rifle.
Player turn Prax-Roll: 2+1 (Commanding presence) Targeting soldier 1
(Fail, does no damage)
Checkers-Roll: 5 Targeting soldier 5
(Moderate success, does 25 damage to Soldier 5, Soldier 5 remaining HP 25)
Teddy-Roll: 5+1 (Feel the Drive) +1 (Commanding presence) Targeting soldier 1
(Moderate success, does 35 damage to soldier 1, Soldier 1 remaining HP: 15)
Elisa-Roll: 8+1 (Commanding presence)+2 (Specialized Lessons) Targeting soldiers 3 and 4
(Success, does 55 damage in total. Soldiers 3 an 4 take 28 damage. Soldier 3 remaining HP: 22, Soldier 4 remaining HP:22)
Sanford-Roll: 5+1 (Commanding presence) Targeting soldiers 1 and 3
(Moderate success, does 30 damage to soldier 1 and 3. Soldiers 1 and 3 are dead.)
Molly-Roll: 6+1 (Commanding presence) Targeting soldier 5
(Moderate success, does 30 damage to soldier 5. Soldier 5 is dead)
Teksis- Roll: 10+1 (Commanding presence) Targeting soldier 4
(Critical success. Does 110 damage to Soldier 4. Soldier 4 is dead) Enemy turn
Soldier 2-Roll: 4 Targeting Sanford (Moderate success, Does 20 damage. Sanford DEF roll 9, negates up to 45 damage. Sanford takes no damage.)
In a split second the Nazis were disorganized to give the team the advantage they needed. Prax gave the command to strike, but his own attempt was met with a dud as the the soldier he was aiming at, dived to dodge the bullet. His relief would only last for a few seconds. He got up again to take a retaliation shot only to be met with the image of a oddly dressed man collide his fist into the soldier's face. An audible pop was heard as the jaw broke in several places and dislocated. The force of the punch made him spin in place before Sanford's bullet tore through the helmet and ventilated his head.
The soldier that was sleeping was roused from the explosion. His confusion would be his downfall. Perched up on the ridge Checkers had set up a sniper position. As soon as the battle started, she took a shot at the sleeping enemy. He managed to move away fast enough to dodge a fatal blow, but the bullet found it's way in his side anyway. He screeched something in German before raising his head to see the android put a few more bullets in his chest from her burst shot.
Elisa may have been unsure in her skills, but her training was paying off. While not hitting either men in the back of the head as she hopped, the bullets made their way inside their unprotected backs. One man turned around with murder in his eyes for whoever it was that shot him, that he was caught completely blindsided by the magnum round tear through his shoulder. He screamed before the second round found its way through the eye, killing him instantly. The second man could only wish that it ended so painlessly. Teksis took a massive swing in his direction with the sabre. The blade cut through the soldier's midsection almost cleanly. The only indication that there was any damage at all was the blood on the blade. Teksis gripped him by the neck and kicked out his lower half. A perfect cut. The nazi could only flail for a few seconds before giving up.
The last remaining soldier barely reacted. Firing off a burst towards Sanford and completely missing him or anyone else for that matter. Realizing that he has no chance to fight these 'people' he raised his hands signaling his surrender.
---
"The fuck is going on out there?" The guard spat out when the explosion erupted at the motor pool. "Give him the morphine so we can go see what it is!"
"Already administering medicine" The doctor said while handling the morphine. It didn't take long for Cama to feel relief from the medicine. The pain had subsided for now.
"Come on Helmunt!" The guard cried out "We have a job to do!"
A strong grunt comes out of Cama’s mouth as he rises to his feet, finally feeling a little better. Just in the nick of time too when the base started to get attacked, probably by the rest of the team he’d been sent back with.
But why on earth are they attacking, and so suddenly too? They could’ve just had him and maybe one of the others sneak around, find the formula, sabotage it or bring it back to them, and that would be that without any complications. It seems they wanted to cut right away to that last part, deeming stealth and possibly Cama’s entire role as an insider completely and utterly useless. He’ll have to file an angry complaint with Prax later.
Regardless, he’s being summoned, so he follows the guard to where all the action is happening. Hopefully the others were paying attention to the gesture he made to help identify him, because there’s no way he can currently remind them again.