Breakout

Spine - Main Deck  - VFS Alexander -

The spine is a huge, cavernous chamber that runs the length of the ship, protected on either side by heavily reinforced bulkheads. The main deck is actually a series of bridges and gangways which are suspended across the empty space and above the lower deck. Passageways run along the sides and lead to living quarters and gunnery stations. Small hovervehicles carry munitions and supplies as well as personnel through the maze of passages and dock at waiting stations along the spine.

Wed Jul 07 20:24:06 3004

Contents: Exits: Corporal Johannes [BA] Barracks Staff Sergeant Rayne  [CQ] Crew Quarters Corporal Weaver  [MD] Medical [GA] Galley [AR] Armory [FW] Fore Weapons [UP] Grav Shaft Up [DN] Grav Shaft Down

Rayne turns to face Johannes and returns the salute. After a moment he drops the salute. He then turns back and faces away from the grav shaft. Smartly he snaps to attention and then he says in a loud commanding voice, "78th! Faaaalllll in!" Weaver steps away from the barracks and quickly makes his way toward Rayne. Once he is near Rayne, and in position, he snaps to attention and brings his hand up in a crisp salute. Johannes drops the salute and gets into position. Rayne drops out of his attentive stance once the troops are in position. He says, "Listen up! We've been given a mission. We've received information that indicates the Lunite's may have captured and are now holding a Vanguard soldier. The intelligence is reliable, but we never know what we are going into. Our mission is simple. We are going down to investigate the validity of these claims. If we find that the claims are true, we are going to extract the said hostage."

Weaver continues to stand at attention, staring attentively at the sergeant. With the end of the speech, he snaps off another salute and responds with a very audible, "Yes, sir!" Johannes stays standing straight and still, listening. Rayne nods and says, "Now, we need to be careful out there. The situation is very volitale. I don't want any unnecessary casulaties and I sure as hell don't want any of us getting hurt. Remember your training, and you will come back alive." He looks around for a moment before saying loudly and commandingly, "Alright, lets move out!"

After disembarking from the Vanguard ship, the soldiers may notice that the landing field seems to be abandoned. Vehicles lay motionless as their operators appear to have gone elsehwhere.

Rayne walks down the ramp of the Thunderchild his combat armor causing his footsteps to sound very heavy. He frowns as he reaches the bottom of the ramp of the Thunderchild. He looks around and says, "Well this looks interesting." He pauses for a moment continuing to look around before saying to Weaver and Johannes, "This look weird to you all?"

Weaver steps down the ramp a short distance behind Rayne. As Rayne halts at the bottom of the ramp, Weaver simply steps off of one side near the bottom, taking a knee as he gets settled. His eyes scan the field, pointing the muzzle of his rifle wherever he is looking. "Empty Vanguard LZ?" Weaver replies. "Seems strange enough to me." Johannes glides down the ramp and kneels on the ground just like Weaver. He begins to look around the area, but with the level of detail of someone that's used to doing a lot of it. The man doesn't respond any yet.

Rayne scans the area for a moment longer then glances towards the Vanguard Center. Finally he nods slightly and says, "Spread out a bit. Lets head towards the Vanguard Center, but take it slow, look for anything out of ordinary, besides the empty LZ." He pauses and then adds, "Be careful, this feels wrong." With that said he begins to walk slowly forward, his VG-HKC MP7a 10mm leading the way. During the sergeant's speech, Weaver throws himself onto his stomach, aiming toward a pair of crate stacks. "Tango spotted, Sarge," he replies as soon as Rayne finishes speaking. However, he does not fire his weapon. Johannes starts to move forward, but hits the ground right after Weaver does. He glances briefly towards where the other man is aiming, but keeps his gun trained towards the other end of the field, which he soon starts scanning more.

Turns out the tango sees the Vanguard troops, too. Because he yells something and opens fire, shattering the silence. Three other Lunites emerge, two from behind crates and another from behind an abandoned forklift, all of them opening fire upon the 78th. They don't seem to be types used to handling weapons, and the shots scatter haphazardly from their inteded targets.

Rayne drops to the ground and begins to scan the area in which Weaver is pointing meticulously. He points his rifle in that direction as well but does not fire, at first. As soon as the unidentified people open fire, Rayne takes aim at one of the Lunites that come from behind the crates. He appears to be trying to aim for the Lunite's legs. He squeezes the trigger of his VG-HKC MP7a 10MM submachine gun. The weapon, with burst mode selected, roars a 3 round burst at his target.

Johannes's watching of the other end of the zone pays off as he catches sight of the bogie appearing from behind the forklift. He takes a moment to aim before firing off a single shot.

Weaver, having taken the time to aim at his target, despite the sudden frantic reaction around him, calmly squeezes the trigger of his VG-HKC MP10C submachine gun, which is set to its three-round burst fire mode.

Rayne has shot his intended target, and the Lunite falls, dropping his weapon. Johannes manages to graze his target only slightly, and Weaver just plain misses. Those who haven't gotten shot continue to fire upon the troops.

Rayne turns and takes aim at the other Lunite that came out from behind the crate. The target that one of his corporals missed. Rayne has wounded one target this time he takes aim and fires another three round burst, aiming for the standard two for the chest, one for the head shot.

"Should have brought my Walther," Johannes grunts as his shoot. He lets out a curse as a shot bings off of his armor. The man then switches his gun into burst mode, holds his breath, re-aims, and squeezes the trigger.

Weaver's breath catches at a shot grazes along his left leg. With a curse, he steadies his rifle for another round of fire toward the same man, whom the sarge grazed after the initial miss.

Rayne misses his target, and Johannes takes out the other Lunite, who lays on the ground incapacitated. Weaver shoots the other man twice, and he drops his weapon, clutching his arm as he drops his rifle. Looks like the place is cleaned out.

Rayne stands up slowly. He yells out, "Check out your downed targets! Stay alert! There may be more of them. Be mindful of your ammunition level!" He begins walking slowly and cautiously, towards the Lunite he shot in the legs. As he approaches the downed Lunite, he makes sure he kicks the gun which was dropped out of reach. He then points his weapon at the Lunite on the ground and says in a very angry voice, "What the hell happened here? Where are the Vanguard that were assigned to this landing zone?" Johannes keeps on his stomach and continues to keep looking. He keeps his target in the edge of his vision, but he looks across Rayne's blind side, his gun following. Weaver scrambles to his feet, giving the slightest impression of a wince as he puts some pressure on his left leg. He keeps his rifle trained on the Lunite he downed and makes his way over there, moving very slowly as he nears the body. The Lunite looks up at Rayne, smirking. "We took it from 'em, that's what happened. Luna's free now. Free from yer damn Vanguard." He spits on Rayne's boot, still clutching his arm.

Rayne looks down at his boot, now spat on. He smirks slightly and says, "We'll see about that." With that he kicks the downed Lunite in the stomach hard, but not so hard that it would cause major damage. He then takes a few steps back keeping his gun trained on the downed Lunite. He waits to hear from his corporals on the status of their tangos.

"Forklift's not moving," Johannes reports as he continues to watch Rayne's blind side. "No sign of any others yet." Weaver reaches his target and, like Rayne, kicks the gun aside with his boot. He puts himself between the Lunite and the gun as he looks over the man. Quietly, over his helmet's internal comm system, he reports, "I don't think this guy's gonna give us any problems for a while." With a pause, he adds, almost as an after-thought. "What're we gonna do with their weapons?" The Lunite oofs as he's kicked, and falls over, curling up into a fetal position. "Fuggin' Marsies.," he mutters. One might note that the door leading in is rather unguarded.

Rayne responds on the internal commlink, "Secure their weapons. If they are dead, leave them. Weaver, unless you feel your tango is too wounded to move, secure him. I am going to secure my man. As we exfiltrate I want to take them back as prisoners on the charge of treason to Solar Republic. They are traitors and should be made an example of." With that he walks towards the Lunite he kicked moments ago. He says to him, "You are no longer free. I am placing you under arrest on the charge of treason to the Solar Republic." He doesn't wait for a reply, he kicks the man in the face, attempting to knock him out.

"Just try to keep covered, guys," Johannes says over the commlink, expanding his watch area to cover more of the landing zone, "We didn't exactly come in quietly." Weaver kneels down over the wounded Lunite and checks him over for ammo. That done, he quickly moves toward the Lunite's weapon and pulls out the clip, stuffing it into one of his own pockets. With that, he takes up a kneeling position on the far side of the crate stacks from the Vanguard vessel they flew in on and points his rifle toward the entrance to the Vanguard Center, awaiting further orders. "Door looks clean, sir," he reports. The Lunite goes out like a light. The others don't look like they're going anywhere any time soon. The door is, indeed, clean.

Rayne nods and says over the internal commlink, "Move up to the door. Lets get in there. They know we are here and we need to get to the prisoners fast....if there even is one. This looks like it was an ambush." He moves towards the door, quicker than a walk, but still cautiously. His submachine gun is back out in front of him. Johannes slowly raises to a crouch, and then to a stooped stand as he begins to walk towards the the door. He turns around and walks backwards to watch their rear. Weaver stands and begins to move forward at a half-crouch, taking long strides to avoid moving too slowly. Cautiously, he approaches the door, his rifle at the ready and his finger on the trigger. For the moment, he is silent. As he reaches the door, he stays off to one side, out of the doorway and awaiting the final word to storm the Vanguard Center.

Rayne nods and says, "Lets move in. Johannes, you take point. I'll be behind you. Weaver, rear guard." He pauses for a moment and says, "Lets do this!"

Johannes nods. "Cover my sides," he says before moving through the door, his gun pointed straight.

Weaver turns to direct his line of sight toward the rear as he follows the group in.

Main Lobby  - Luna -

From the street, visitors enter into brief lobby area. A span of narrow red carpeting cuts across a floor of white marble tile and leads into a long narrow tunnel, the entrance to which is guarded by a huge stone statue of a soldier in Guardian fleet uniform. A colorful fresco of the Guardian Fleet emblem, a pair of golden eagle's wings atop a gleaming silver sword which stretches across the length of the ceiling to eventually pierce a gleaming yellow sun. White doors leading to various offices line either side of the tunnel. At the end of the tunnel is an elevator with an ID card reader in the wall next to it.

Wed Jul 07 22:37:13 3004

+LHELP Available Contents: Exits: Corporal Weaver  [FO] Fuad's Office Staff Sergeant Rayne  [JO] Jeri's Office Corporal Johannes [UP] Elevator [ST] Street [LF] Landing Field

Johannes moves swiftly through the door, looking and aiming straight forward. Rayne follows close behind Johannes, he scans a 45 degree angle to Johannes left and right.

Weaver enters at the rear of the party, his aim going out the door until he passes the doorway, when he broadens his visual searching to the left and right of the group's rear, keeping his gun steading directly behind them. He moves slowly enough to avoid bumping into Rayne, but quickly enough to avoid lagging behind.

The Vanguard Center Lobby is... empty. All of it. Silence permeates the area, broken only by the soft footsteps of the marines. The elevator visible at the end of the tunnel is unguarded, almost inviting.

Johannes moves forward into the lobby until he gets to some cover significant enough for the squad. Once there, he kneels down, and continues scanning forward.

Rayne says quietly, "We need to clear the first floor. " He looks around for a moment and says, "It looks like there are only two rooms to be cleared." He pauses for a moment before continuing. "Ok, Weaver. Watch the elevator and door to the street. Johannes and I will clear the two rooms. Lets move quietly now. I know we made a lot of noise coming in, but as long as things are quiet, I don't feel the need to disturb them. Stay alert." He pauses fora moment as if going over his plan once more before saying, "Johannes when we enter these room will do a standard pie slice manuever. Cut left to right. Got it?"

Weaver follows the team toward the cover location picked out by Johannes, where he too kneels. With a nod, Weaver turns so that he can keep his line of fire on the elevator and the door to the street. "Yes, sir," he murmurs into the helmet comm system. The Center remains empty. And quiet. The doors to the rooms are open, and look to be quite empty, in terms of people.

"Affirmative," Johannes says. He reaches into a pocket on his armor and pulls out a silencer that he screws onto his gun's barrel.

Rayne appears to be ready to move and then suddenly says, "Belay that order. The rooms are clear. Maintain silence still. Lets move to the elevator. Once inside, stay covered on either side of the elevator, when those doors open we have no idea what will be on the other side. Lets move out to the elevator."

Weaver nods at the change of orders, a slight look of hesitation briefly invading his expression as their boss becomes fickle. The look fades quickly and is replaced by his former, blank expression. He eyes the elevator warily and awaits the movement of the squad to continue.

Johannes's eyebrows raise momentarily before he nods. He stands up, crouched quite a bit still. After a glance behind him, he begins to move towards the elevator in the same mannor as he entered.

Rayne follows behind Johanne's cautiously, alertly.

Nothing happens. At all. Weaver brings up the rear of the trio, focusing most of his attention off to one side, with occassional glances behind them.

Intelligence Area  - Luna -

A long narrow sterile hallway with the same white marble floor White electronic sliding doors that part in the center are barely visible along several points down both sides of the hall.

Wed Jul 07 22:54:34 3004

+LHELP Available Contents: Exits: Corporal Weaver  [DC] Detention Cells Staff Sergeant Rayne  [MF] Main Floor Corporal Johannes

The length of the hallway is clear, and devoid of any sort of lifeforms, human or otherwise. Rayne nods as he peeks around the elevator door wall and sees the hallway is clear. He says, "Lets move forward. I think I see cells at the end of the hall." Weaver nods a bit at Rayne's report. Seeing that their is not much of a rear to bring up, the Corporal shifts his focus primarily to one side as he awaits the team's move. Johannes walks smoothly out of the elevator, initially moving quickly to give the rest of the squad to file in behind him. Slowing down a little, he begins to walk down the hall, staying low enough to allow the next person in line to shoot over him. Rayne walks behind Johannes and says aloud, "Don't let your guard down. Start opening these sliding doors as we walk down the hall. The prisoners may or may not be here still. Be careful when your opening doors though."

Weaver follows the team out of the elevator, keeping pace a short distance behind Rayne. His rifle is pointed groundward, as any shots he fired now would have to pass through both Rayne and Johannes. He keeps a careful eyes around himself and the team as they proceed. The only sounds heard are the footsteps of the troops. The way to the detention cells looms ever closer. Rayne says, "Lets contine to the detention cells. Keep moving forward."

Detention Cells  - Luna -

Cast in the cold obsidian of the speckled marble used to forge this area of the Center, the Detention Facility is little more than a control center flanked by corridors upon corridors of holding cells and security system. The control center itself greets you as you enter this area of the Center, existing as a huge main display screen surrounded by rows of security consoles and controls, monitoring everything from the power levels on the security fields that keeps those held here in their cells, to how much deadly force the various laser cannons mounted onto the ceiling should administer if ever required.

Wed Jul 07 23:03:59 3004

+LHELP Available Contents: Exits: Corporal Weaver  [C2] Cell Two Staff Sergeant Rayne  [C1] Cell One Corporal Johannes [HW] Hallway Mr. Jewett 

Johannes walks in crouched, leading the group of three. His submachine gun is pointed straight forward.

Jewett is currently standing in front of a group of cells, hands clasped behind his back. He appears calm as he gazes at the prisoners within.

Rayne enters the room behind Johannes. Upon seeing Jewett he immediately acknowledges him by saying questioningly, "Mr. Jewett?" Weaver brings up the rear of the soldiers, immediately turning his careful gaze and the muzzle of his rifle into the room, observing for targets. From Cell Two , At the moment, Verrus hangs upside down on one of the bunk bed's bars, his legs wrapped and clenched taughtly around it. In his hand is a full hand of cards, while on the table in front of him and his bunkmate Enialis lays a pile of cards. The two appear to be playing poker, despite the sounds of gunfire around them. Enialis is at the other end of the table, apparently at the apex of a very elaborate yoga move, one hand holding five cards. "Raise ten," he says casually. Jewett's eyes are lured away from the cells and towards the newly arrived group. It should be noted that the detention facility has a number of other Vanguard soldiers around. They too turn to greet the strike force with a glance. "Sergeant Rayne. Good evening. I've been expecting you for a few days now."

Rayne looks incredulously at Jewett and says, "The LZ has been abandoned and overrun. What's going on here?" He looks confused, and he remains guarded and he glances quickly around the room cautiously.

Johannes immediately gets down on a knee after taking a few steps into the room. He keeps his gun trained towards Jewett, though his finger is off of the trigger.

Weaver kneels now, offering a quizzical glance toward Jewett. He, unlike Johannes, keeps his weapon pointed elsewhere, with his finger on the trigger.

From Cell Two , From his overhang, Verrus peers over towards the opening door and the troops through the forcefield. Then back to Enialis, with a slight grin on his face. "Ten? You sure you want to do that?" He asks, rather casually, face beginning to redden from all of the blood rushing to his head. Without waiting, he nods. "I'll see it, and raise you fifteen." His dark green eyes twinkle.

Jewett turns briefly to address the two soldiers inside the cell. "Lieutenant Amakir, Private Verrus. We are about to depart," he tells them, once more turning to the 78th unit. "We entered lockdown after the recent events taking place in Luna. Certainly you were briefed about it? Now you are here to evacuate the building or at least remove those of us who've been assigned elsewhere, correct? Let us carry on with that and..." His eyes slide over to Johannes. "...point that thing elsewhere, corporal. Now."

Rayne ponders for a moment and says, "Yes, we can continue on with that. Lets begin exfiltration. Get those forcefields down. Lets move fast." He turns and begins to walk towards the door, guarding it while his orders are carried out. As Rayne speaks, something happens.

From Cell Two , "Alright, guess were leaving," Enialis says to Verrus as he hears the convo. "Alright, see your fifteen and call. What you got?" he asks, revealling two pair as he stands up, unbending himself from the strange contortion he was in. Johannes is looking right at Jewett when he gets the order, but he hesitates a moment. "Sarge?" he asks, as if wanting to hear the order from him."

The overhead lighting fixtures, one by one, shut off. In the distance, a low hum denoting a major power source being shut off can be heard. Soon, the group is plunged into darkness.

From Cell Two <Vanguard Center: Luna>, Verrus drops down from the bunk bed, smile still planted amoung his features as he tosses down the two aces and three fives. "Full house, motherf***er." Declares the former Vanguard soldier proudly, grabbig his already packed back. And then.. the lights go out. He curses something nasty..

Rayne takes a knee and faces toward where the door to the hallway should be. He yells out, "Ok, lets move out right now. We don't have much time left. Tac Lights up!" With that a powerful beam of bright white light breaks through the darkness as Rayne hits a switch on his rifle. A tactical light attached to the bottom of it is lite. He sweeps down the hallway, left to right, right to left. He then says, "Hallway is clear. Lets get these prisoners moving!"

Already on a knee, Johannes flips on the flashlight on his gun and quickly sweeps around the room. "Everyone follow them," he says to everyone else in the room, as if he was preparing to be the rear guard.

Martinus is kneeling as well, across from Johannes. He flips on his light and sweeps the room as well, and nods to Johannes, rising and moving towards Rayne.

Slowly, quietly, Enialis steps to the treshold of his cell, peering out at the crowd. He makes no noise, and doesn't even try to move towards them. But also, he isn't trying to hide himself too well.

Rayne looks back and sees the prisoners aren't moving yet. He says a bit louder, "Johannes! Weaver! Get those god damn prisoners ready to move, now! What is the hold up?" He continues scanning the hallway, watching to see if any targets appear.

Weaver turns back toward Rayne and nods. He turns and moves at a half-crouch toward the cells. Before he takes his third step, however, he drops back to his knee and levels his weapon at Enialis. "Let's go," Weaver says quietly, but his voice is firm. "Move it."

Johannes watches Weaver approach the cells. He keeps his gun pointed in a general direction to cover the room, but keeps note of Weaver's situation. It appears Rayne shouted a little *too* loudly that time. Some muffled rustling comes from one of the cells. "What the hell is goin' on..." "Hey, who's out there?!" Enialis steps out of the cell, quite calm. "Point your weapon somewhere else, Corporal," he says softly as he steps out. "78 SFU and you don't even give your old CO any god damn respect. Poor show, thought the Vanguard made 'em better," he mumbles. Martinus moves his light upwards a little bit, keeping the light on Enialis' center body mass as he steps out of the cell.

Rayne quickly looks over his shoulder at Enialis and says, "No respect?" He ponders for a moment before saying, "With all due respect, we need to move out now, so lets go. Is that better, sir?" He then turns back to watch the hallway, scanning it once again. He yells out over his shoulder, "We are moving out in 30 seconds, get ready!"

Weaver's expression remains firm. As Rayne speaks, Weaver shifts so that his weapon isn't pointed directly at Enialis, but rather just off to his side. His eyes alternates between watching Enialis and scanning what little he can make out of the room, care of the weapons' lights from the soldiers. "What about the prisoners?" Weaver murmurs into his helmet's comm unit.

A bleary-eyed Lunite in a prison jumpsuit rolls out of his cot and stumbles to the cell entrance. He raises an eyebrow at the flashlights. "Someone's out there..." he reaches to lean against the force field, but instead falls through and lands on his face. He scrambles to his feet, shouting, "Holy s***! The door's open!" He begins yelling louder. "Hey! The f***ing doors are open!"

Enialis doesn't move or say anything as the Lunite prisoners take notice to the situation, instead waiting to see what they decide to do now that their cells are open. Rayne rolls his eyes, behind the faceplate of his helmet. He says rather incredulously over the internal comm unit, "Are you kidding me? Get them lined up and ready to move out, as I ordered! If any of the prisoners attempt escape or do not follow orders, shoot them for christs sake! They will all be going back to the dropship with us!" He turns his head back as one of the Lunite prisoners starts yelling. He says over the internal comm system, "Martinus, get a hold of that dumbass" indicating the shouting prisoner with one of his hands. He then turns his head back towards the hallway and continues to watch it for targets, using the light on his rifle to sweep over the hallway.

Johannes's flashlight starts to sweep around the various cells, keeping an eye on what the prisoners are going to do. He stays kneeled, and keeps his finger lightly on the trigger.

Weaver's eyes widen slightly at Rayne's order. He turns toward the sergeant. "With all due respect, sir, there's a /lot/ more of them than there are of us, sir," he says through the comm again.

More and more Lunites seem to be waking up. Someone yells, "Jailbreak!". And then it happens. The sound of valuables being snatched from their holding places and dull thudding of feet on the floor echo through the darkness as shadowy objects pour out of the cells, barrelling past those already in the hallway. They don't seem to care that there are armed Vanguard troops in the hallway. And there's a lot of them, as Weaver mentioned.

Rayne nods and looks back and realizes that Weaver is right. He begins to speak over the internal comm system, and then halts as prisoners begin flooding out of their cells. He again begins to speak over the internal comm system, "s***. Ok, get Mr. Jewett and Enialis ready to move, right now." He pauses for three seconds or so as a few Lunite prisoners run by him and he says, "Lets start moving RIGHT NOW! If any of these Lunite's try anything, put them down, no hesitation. Keep our guys safe." He begins moving through the door back into the hallway.

Martinus looks towards Rayne. "Affirmative." he says simply before flipping the safety off on his weapon, and moves a bit closer to Enialis. As some of the Lunites run by him, he raises his rifle to his shoulder, ready to snap it up and fire at a moment's notice.

"I have a flashbang at my side if we need to use it," Johannes says over the commlink. He stays on his knee, but slides a little closer to the door. "Just don't get separated, guys."

Weaver turns his weapon away from Enialis, moving it around the room to get a better picture of what is going on around him. "I don't see Jewett," he mutters into the comm. Turning his light and gaze back toward the group of non-Lunites to see that the group has been passed. Murmuring a few quiet curses, he turns to follow out the door.

Enialis waits for the mass of fleeing Lunites to reach him, and for Weaver to point his firearm away. As soon as both these happen, he ducks slightly, getting his head below the Lunites around him, and starts to move with them towards the exit.

As the horde surges around the group, prisoners push or get pushed into the troops. One of them stumbles into Martinus, and another into Rayne. "'Ey, watchit!" He gives Rayne a hard eye before realizing who he is. "f***... Vanguard! There's Vanguard in 'ere!" Yells and commotion break out as the horde moves even faster, a few charging into the group and attacking them with implements purloined from the cells.

Rayne says over the internal comm still moving, "What the hell do you mean you don't see Jewett? He was standing right there!" He shakes his head, still paying close attention to the Lunites around him. He says, "We need to keep moving, call for him. If you don't hear him, keep moving, we need to get out now, there is no time left damn it!" He grunts slightly as he gets run into by one of the prisoners. He says into the comm unit, "f***! Drop what your doing and move out now! We are leaving. Keep Enialis and Verrus in your sights and nearby!" He passes through the threshold and into the hallway.

"Does anybody see those two, either?" Weaver asks suddenly, scanning for the two of them as he stands. As the Lunites go passing by, Weaver pulls his rifle up to his shoulder, his light shining into the eyes of the prisoners running in his direction. Slowly, he begins to back up, following the order from Rayne.

Enialis and Verrus slip out the door with the mass of Lunites.

Martinus is knocked aside as the Lunite bumps into him. "s***. Lost the prisoners, sir." he says calmly, raising his firearm to send a three-shot burst towards the body mass of one of the approaching attackers.

"Let's get out of here, guys," Johannes says as he starts walking backwards towards the door. He keeps the flashlight shining forward, into the eyes of anyone that might be charging at him. One hand stays ready on the gun's trigger, though his other reaches for his flashbang. "Flashbang ready," he says.

The stream of prisoners continues, flashbang or no flashbang.

Rayne says on the internal comm system and says, "The flashbang wouldn't do s***. There are too many of them. It's like steping in a f***ing ant hill. Just move out now! Back to the dropzone! Keep your eyes open for the prisoners, and attempt recovery if possible. Stay in contact at all times!" He is just on the other side of the threshold between the Detention Cells and the Hallway. He adds, "Come on, lets move god damn it or we aren't going to make it out of here!"

Martinus manages to shoot and down two escaping Lunites. The gunfire makes the rest of the crowd move even faster. "Holy s***! Someone's shooting at us!"

Johannes quickly re-hooks the flashbang to his side. He puts the newly-freed hand on his gun again. The man gets on both of his feet in a crouch and begins hurrying quickly, though backwards, towards the exit. He continues looking around for a hostile target. Weaver begins backing up more quickly, keeping his weapon trained forward, without firing. He reaches the door and stops next to Rayne. "Let's go, Sarge," he says.

You head into Intelligence Area <Vanguard Center: Luna>. Intelligence Area <Vanguard Center: Luna> - Luna -

A long narrow sterile hallway with the same white marble floor White electronic sliding doors that part in the center are barely visible along several points down both sides of the hall.

Tue Jul 13 21:05:48 3004

+LHELP Available Contents: Exits: Staff Sergeant Rayne <IC> [DC] Detention Cells [MF] Main Floor

Weaver arrives from Detention Cells <Vanguard Center: Luna>. Weaver has arrived. Johannes arrives from Detention Cells <Vanguard Center: Luna>. Johannes has arrived.

Rayne nods once and begins walking towards the main floor, Lunites still running around him. He says, "Keep it moving, keep your eyes open, lets get out of here in one piece." One of the escaping prisoners runs into him again, and bounces off him. The prisoner turns around to see who he ran into, and upon realizing it was a Vanguard soldier, charges at Rayne with a shiv. Rayne quickly takes aim and squeezes off a three round burst at the prisoner who is at point blank range.

The prisoner falls to the ground, dead. The other prisoners take little notice and continue the escape, yelling and shouting echoing through the whole prison.

Rayne continues moving forward after shooting the prisoner, towards the Main Floor. He says into his comm unit, "Keep moving, damn it. Status report, is everyone still with me?"

"Aleit here," Johannes says as he continues moving backwards, watching their rear. He stands up a little to help him move faster.

The crowd of prisoners has thinned out now, and none seem interested in the Vanguard troops. Most of them have already made it down to the main floor.

Rayne takes the stairs down to the main floor. He stays in contact on the comms system, "Everyone with me? Stay close! Has anyone spotted the prisoners we were after?"

"We look clear," Johannes reports.

Main Lobby <Vanguard Center: Luna> - Luna -

From the street, visitors enter into brief lobby area. A span of narrow red carpeting cuts across a floor of white marble tile and leads into a long narrow tunnel, the entrance to which is guarded by a huge stone statue of a soldier in Guardian fleet uniform. A colorful fresco of the Guardian Fleet emblem, a pair of golden eagle's wings atop a gleaming silver sword which stretches across the length of the ceiling to eventually pierce a gleaming yellow sun. White doors leading to various offices line either side of the tunnel. At the end of the tunnel is an elevator with an ID card reader in the wall next to it.

Tue Jul 13 21:33:18 3004

+LHELP Available Contents: Exits: Staff Sergeant Rayne <IC> [FO] Fuad's Office [JO] Jeri's Office [UP] Elevator [ST] Street [LF] Landing Field

Johannes has arrived.

Rayne exits the stairway through the door. He begins to move slowly towards the landing field.

Most of the windows have been broken. Prisoners are running out onto the street, free from their confines.

Johannes follows behind Rayne, sweeping around to their sides to keep an eye out.

The way to the landing field is wide open.

Rayne heads toward the landing field, Johannes in tow. He continues to watch carefully for any rogue prisoners who may come back to cause trouble.

Vanguard Landing Field(#15004RDLn) -

The terrain has been leveled and paved here to make an area for Vanguard craft to land. Vessels of the VFS stand motionless here, while others touch down and take off from the neatly-maintained field. Crates of weapons and supplies are neatly stacked and organized, and small forklifts rush around to ship the cargo elsewhere.

Tue Jul 13 21:46:21 3004

Contents: Exits: Corporal Johannes <IC> [LA] Launch Staff Sergeant Rayne <IC> [VC] Vanguard Center

The Lunites from earlier haven't gone anywhere. The landing pad is otherwise abandoned.

Johannes creeps onto the landing field, looking around carefully for bogies.

Rayne goes over to the prisoner he shot earlier. He is still unconscious. He slings his rifle over his shoulder, picks the prisoner up and puts him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. He then turns and slowly begins moving towards the launch. He says over the internal comms unit, "Be sure you are covering em Corporal!"

Yes, otherwise abandoned. Aside from the Lunite prisoners that pour out of the Vanguard Center behind the troops. Leading them, still in his jumpsuit, is Mark Stone. "Going somwhere?"

"Already on it, sir," Johannes says over the commlink. He stops and crouches down, and starts to scan all around.

Rayne drops the Lunite he shot and ducks down to the ground taking a knee. He finds a crate to give himself a bit of cover behind as he unslings his rifle off of his shoulder, turning back towards Mark Stone. He levels his rifle but does not fire.

Johannes spins around on the balls of his feet, and faces the Senator. "Damn," he hisses. He immedately looks for cover and dives behind some.

The crowd of Lunites forms a crescent in front of the Vanguard troops, a few raising stolen rifles at them. A few run to assist the Lunites in handcuffs. The ex-Senator shakes his head. "I thought the Vanguard had more resources than you lot. The Republic is *obviously* unfit to govern us, they can't even manage a proper military mission. It's almost sad." He chuckles and gestures toward the nearest two armed Lunites. "Take their weapons and put them in handcuffs."

Rayne says into his internal comms unit, "We sure as f*** aren't becoming POWs. Fall back to the launch, best speed, I'll cover you the best I can from my position! Move your ass fast and if you get a chance to use that flashbang, do it! That'll give us time to fall back." Using the crates as a method of steadying his rifle, he takes aim at the Lunite's closest to Johannes and opens fire on them with a three round burst

The Lunite falls down, dead. As blood seeps onto the ground, the other Lunites charge at the two soldiers. Mark Stone is handed a pistol by another Lunite, and he joins in the fray.

"Roger," Johannes says over the commlink. He gets up above the crates he went behind. He quickly scans the charge, finds the Senator, and fires off a quick burst at him. Once the shot if through, he turns around, and dashes to the extraction ship, making sure to keep as many crates as possible between him and the charging mass.

Rayne also takes aim at the Senator, following suit with Johannes. He takes careful aim, still using the crate for cover. He squeezes the trigger and lets off a three round burst.

Rayne stays crouched, but begins backing up towards the launch, he opens fire on another one of the Lunites who is shooting at Johannes and himself.

Mark Stone, Senator of Luna, is gunned down on the spot. He lays there, motionless on the concrete. As his body makes a *thud* on the ground, a small group of Lunites turn around and stare, horrified at the sight of their fallen leader. The rest, however, don't appear to realize the Senator has fallen, and continue toward the troops, armed mostly with shivs and blunt weapons.

Another Lunite falls as they charge, a few others stumbling over the fallen body. One of the prisoners with a rifle opens fire at Rayne.

Johannes drops to his knees and slides on the ground some after he's a few feet behind Rayne's position. He turns around and drops on his stomach, partially behind a crate. "Move back some, Sarge!" he says over the commlink before firing a covering spray on the closest attackers to Rayne.

A prisoner is hit in the arm, and stops to nurse his wounds. More, however, are still coming towards them.

Another prisoner is hit twice, and falls. One of the riflemen opens fire on Johannes, while still others run back to attend to wounded, and gape at the fallen Stone.

Johannes tries to get behind the crate as fire comes his way, but not in time. Two shots bing harmlessly off him, while another hits the crate above him. He grunts and comes out again, just enough to return fire.

Another Lunite falls. The others brandish whatever they're holding and press onward.

Rayne takes aim for one of the Lunites that is armed with a rifle. He continues, yet again, to fall back towards the launch. After he shoots, he glances over his shoulder to see how close he is to the launch.

Rayne's shots fly harmlessly past the raging Lunites.

Johannes slides up into a crouch. "Get to the ship, sir!" he says over the commlink before firing another burst.

Johannes's round of fire has a similar effect, hitting a few crates but not doing much to the charging prisoners.

Rayne finally reaches the ramp of the Thunderchild. He fires a few more rounds at the Lunites, not taking particular aim. He continues providing cover for Johanne's until he reaches the ramp.

Seeing the Sarge at the ship, Johannes stands up and runs to the ship.

The Lunites break off their assault now that they've driven off the Vanguard. They see to their wounded, and a group of them pick up the corpse of Mark Stone, carrying him back into the Vanguard Center as the Thunderchild takes off, destined for the Alexander.