Operation Fairhaven FOB - Charlie Team - RPLOG

Participants

• Greyson
• Junes
• Narwen
• Sugarkitten
• Xerxia

Date

17/5/2025

Log

(Narwen) It's early in the morning, and the California sun is still mild, offset by a light breeze. A small crowd is gathering close to the Eastern edge of Fairhaven. Many of them look tough, toting weapons, armour, or heavy tools. A handful of vehicles are pulled up: a couple of minivans, one or two battered cars, a pickup, and some heavier construction equipment: a tractor, a backhoe, and a bulldozer. A rhino and a horse heave a jackhammer into the back of the pickup with a clang; a rat in coveralls standing beside the vehicle ducks down to check on the axel and then yells something at them, shaking her head. There's a sense of tension in the air: most everyone here's aware they might not come back, aside from a few who look too relaxed. Hardly anyone is having sex. One woman -- she looks human, but she's covered to her neck in heavy armour, so it's hard to be sure -- moves through the crowd, checking on each group systematically; most of the relaxed mutants get sent home after a quiet word from her, or, in one case, a knockout punch. Eventually she gets to the work crew by the truck, exchanges a few words with them, then beckons impatiently to your group to join them.

(Narwen) "Listen up! We're going to an old power substation, a hundred miles East of here. There's a damaged nanite server in there. You're Charlie team, and your job's to clear the rubble so we can get inside and fix it up, WITHOUT collapsing the whole place. Bad news: it makes golems to attack intruders. Good news: some other poor SOBs are gonna take care of them. When they're done, you go in. Go slow, go safe, do NOT trash my server, got it? You got six engineers to do the real work," she says, gesturing to the crew next to the truck, "and five mercs to do the babysitting and keep them and their gear in one piece. There's no real nanite bubble out there, so nothing's gonna work and nothing's gonna keep you alive if you screw up. So don't screw up. Now get your asses in gear. Bobbie? You're in charge," she says to the rat. "You got the blue van."

(Narwen) Bobbie nods -- seems like both she and the rest of the crew were expecting that. "Kate, you got the backhoe. Jo, 'dozer. Wink, tractor. Rest of you in the van with me. You need anything, grab it now." Kate seems to be the heavily built rhino who was hauling gear earlier; Jo is some kind of lizard, maybe a gecko; and Wink is a lemur in a reflective jacket who scrambles up onto the tractor with ease, grabbing the wheel with his hands at the same time as he turns the ignition with his dextrous feet. The rest shuffle into the van with you: Mike, a beaver who's brought along a hockey stick and gnaws on it nervously; Legs, a tall, stacked Clydesdale who takes up most of a row by hirself; and Bobbie herself, who takes the driver's seat. As well as you, there's one other merc: a jumpy-looking coyote named Red, who keeps checking the bolt action on his rifle.

(Sugarkitten) Sugarkitten shuffles along through the groups of people into her assigned team, carrying everything she thought she'd need for this outside the bubble mission. The supplies were light and easilly fit in the van, she stacked the welding rod packs quite neatly into the space in the van, just her own preferred ones but she could make use of other materials in a pinch. She wears a black leather zip front jacket and black leather form hugging pants, and has a single holster on her left hip with Enhanced Laser Pistol on standby. She felt nervous about her first time leaving the bubble and takes a seat in the van pulling on her shades, but sliding them up to rest on her forehead for now, her feline ears twitching as she glances around at the others in her team. "Hi, I'm Sugar." she states in a flat tone, her tails and body language showed her nervousness and trepidation.

(Junes) Junes sits near a van on a cooler making sure their holsters and gear are tight and secured but otherwise seem relaxed or even eager to be out here, the scaled hissune is clearly a chimera featuring scales and patterns from other types of lizards and scalies wearing a black hoodie with purple accents on the arms and some black tights contrasting the white and highlight of color from their nine fluffy tails that sway gingerly. once finished checking things over they got up and waved to the new arrivals and other mercs joining them and returning the introduction "junes, good to have you!" moving a stray hair back to tied ponytail for now as the chimera smiles!

(Xerxia) Xerxia heaves a dragons breath Dart loaded Shotgun onto the van they are getting in while they make sure they have clipped all their medical kits to their armor making sure they wont come undone or falloff

(Greyson) A wolf-beast, completely naked but for a satchel and a comms unit strapped to his wrist, sits against the back wall of the van, taking inventory of a satchel full of equipment, a compact chainsaw with alloyed teeth set beside a fully-stocked toolbox, old-world manual equipment set beside new-age looking power tools, a bouquet of grenades, one marked with a T, the other an S dangling from a chain on his bag. A closer look at his now mostly-emptied belongings would reveal a carton of hand-rolled cigarettes labelled 'C.Y.T.', which lie atop a small, hard-drive-sized device that reads 'S.U.C.K.', which faintly whirrs along.

Waving a hand to the arriving crew, the man bows his head, never turning his eyes from his work. "Greyson Robertson, technical and logistics support from the Merc N' Tails, planning to help out Alpha team today, but time's running short before we get this show on the road. Pleasure to be a part of this, whatever the case. If you end up needing any equipment before I run out and get the details sorted on my end, you let me know, yeah?"

(Sugarkitten) Sugarkitten returns the smile Junes gives her, and it has a reassuring effect on her. Sugar's purple hair was tied in a practical bun up top and she was glad to see that Junes was also tying their hair back, which gave the impression she was with somebody sensible. For a while she sits quietly, simply admiring the patterns of scales and variety and counting the tails in her head. Her own two tails were flagged to the side where she sat. Sugar also looks to Xerxia and gives a wave gesture while she braces herself for the vehicle to start moving. Then she remembers Greyson from the recruitment tent, her ears perking up. "I may require some long-range weapon as s just in case, something light enough to sling over my shoulder, since my pistol isn't going to be doing a lot unless I'm up close. Perhaps a sniper rifle?" she requests up front, based on their prior discussions.

(Junes) Junes looked at sugar with a slight familiarity but, shrugged not being able to quite pin it down and returned the smile right back but saw she spoke with someone that looked and smelled like someone they knew and leisurely got up closer to him "glad to see you again! but more importantly being able to help on this end of things." waving over the other canine that was heaving a shotgun into the van along with the coyote mercenary "come meet the team! ill be doing some support and generally working on keeping the enemies tied up or the crew safe, junes!"

(Xerxia) Xerxia notices the familiar face's and wave's back saying "hey if worse comes to worse i got plenty of medical kits" as they pat the medical kits while also seeming a bit nervous.

(Greyson) Greyson rifles through his bag, muttering as he snaps his fingers, "Think I left it with Cait, but given she's gonna be in some hot water if I stick around with you guys, it's... probably just best that I leave it with her, no offense. So long as it's gear you've already /got/ on you though I might be able to tinker with it..." He calls up to the front, "Bobbie, you got a bench back this way I could borrow! Not sure how bumpy the ride's gonna be, but I figure I could get some work done while we're movin'!"

Bowing his head to Junes, he murmurs, "And in more- placid circumstances, thankfully. Fingers crossed it stays that way, knowing how work can get out here sometimes..." The lupine grumbles, sorting a few different sizes and types of screwdrivers.

Finally, canting his head to Xerxia he muses, "Just- keep your head on your shoulders and make sure we get home in one piece, yeah? Rather not be staring at Cait out of the confines of a soup can." He snickers, glancing to his comms unit as he whistles, "Looks like I might be staying for the ride on this one... get comfy, yeah? Gonna be a few hours."

(Narwen) "Hop in," calls the rat. "We're leaving either way. Butts in seats time."

(Narwen) The convoy begins rolling, one at a time. Alpha and Beta take the front, and someone lets out a whoop as they accelerate. The heavy machines are next, and your van brings up the rear. The diesel engine judders to life, sputtering and grumbling at the load, and Bobbie pulls out onto the highway. The assembly area behind you is empty now, just a few logistics people packing it up. As it disappears out of view, those peering back behind the van might see a skunk beast wearing a hard hat tromp up, panting, and gesturing about -- and then the van accelerates and he's left behind.

(Narwen) "Anyone else thinking we'd make a pretty good target for an ambush?" the coyote asks, breaking the silence.

(Narwen) "Can it, Red," Bobbie replies, without turning around. She seems to know him. "Rest of you, you wanna tell me who you are and how you're gonna keep my guys alive?"

(Narwen) "I know how they can keep me alive," mutters the horse, stretching out a leg and adjusting hir kilt.

(Sugarkitten) Sugarkitten did indeed seem familiar to Junes, notable similarities to Gaiakitten were the purple colouration of hair, the shimmering tips, her tails and the horns were distinctively nekomata.. but the differences were that Sugar had no fur and instead white hydrophobic latex-like skin underneath her clothing and had a human-like face of Kemonomimi, and she wasn't pregnant.. Seeing Xerxia's nervousness she reaches out to give a pet on the knee of the armour. "We're all in this together. Honestly its great to have a medic on-board, although I hope it doesn't come to that." she states glancing around and nodding to the others. She listens to Greyson and then unpops the button on her holster, sliding her left hand around the grip of her Laser Pistol and pulls it out. "Sure, it would be nice to modify it, just don't mess with the settings called WLD, and CUT I've been working on them the last few days" she explains, and things the heavy guns probably were better suited for another merc with that talent.

(Sugarkitten) Sugarkitten hands the Pistol to Greyson

(Junes) Junes looks to the rat and assured her "ill be confusing and generally making the opposition have a worse time while keeping all of us up and taking potshots or threatening them with some special tricks i have, i can show one if you'd like but its...kinda strange and terrifying once you realize why" *they grin but those tails seem to swish for emphasis and then popping open the cooler they show some refreshments* "anyway, i also cooked a few things up and brought others so we can keep our reserves up a bit better!" packed with sandwiches, ice cream bars, juice, cans of soda, granola bars, colored juices in water bottles, a few containers that look like pasta salad, coleslaw and a few soda cans of soup along with more "the foods i made myself and a few of the drinks and ive got tunes for the road before we gotta get serious!" they said handing a box of strawberry frosted biscuits to the shotgun wielding canine being pet by sugar and handed a bottle to greyson

(Xerxia) Xerxia state's to the driver "me im great at providing first aid and with my armor it allows me to go near the dangerous conditions so im your local paramedic aka walking armored ambulance just never been out this far before truth is this would be my first time out of the safety of the zone"

(Greyson) Waggling the 'S.U.C.K.' at Legs, Greyson deadpans, before pivoting to address Bobbie's question, "Like I said- Greyson Robertson, Merc N' Tails. Not much of a fighter, but I'm here as technical support for our engineering team anyhow. Got a decent head for strategy and structure though, so I can at least tell the everyone else some of the softer spots to smack while I'm getting busy. So long as you don't plan on using me as a meatshield I'm happy to be here, yeah? Got a few smoke grenades if things get hairier than normal and we need to dip out, but if we're the /last/ to get here I figure we'll manage just fine without..." His eyes scan across the rest of the rat's rag-tag bunch, smirking as he muses, "Think we'll manage though, yeah? Only repairing something that could turn us into a second Vegas if we put a few zeroes where they shouldn't be."

Taking the pistol gingerly, he works a screw along the barrel, worming out the old aperture and slipping in a fresh one from a collection of salvage strewn about his makeshift workspace, cleaning the lens with a small alcohol wipe as he squints, "Well... not half bad, but I figure this oughta help it punch a little harder. Keep this thing handy, yeah?"

Setting the bottle from Junes down across from himself, careful to avoid the more delicate electronics nearby, the wolf bows his head in silent thanks, ears perked at the mention of music, "Ah? Don't got any Bee Gees rattling around in there, do you? Not that I figure everyone else'd be on-board with it." He snorts. Eyeing Xerxia, he bows his head, "Word of advice then if it's your first time- just keep anything nanite-related for emergencies only. Limited supply of em out here at-best, and even then they're not gonna be all that useful. Got a med-kit with a few bruise kits and bandages if you've got a need for em, know just enough to make myself useful, but in a pinch? I trust you with em more than myself."

(Narwen) It doesn't take more than a couple of minutes before you leave Fairhaven's bubble, and you feel it right away. Things that were effortless before suddenly seem like hard work. Even just sitting there is uncomfortable: you get aches and cramps from time to time, and the nanites don't smooth them away like you're used to. They also don't clean up sweat, grime, and fluids, and before long the van is starting to stink of horse. By silent agreement, the windows get cracked open one by one.

(Narwen) Abruptly, Bobbie pumps the breaks, jolting you forward. "What the hell?" she mutters, shading her eyes and slowing the van further until it comes to a stop, pulled up alongside the three heavy vehicles. The rest of the convoy is rolling on ahead, already half-hidden in a cloud of dust. Red snaps a round into the chamber and pokes his rifle out the window, eyes frantic. Bobbie winds her window all the way down and sticks her head out. "What's the hold-up?" she calls.

(Narwen) "Engine's dead!" calls the gecko, who has already hopped down off the bulldozer and is pulling at the engine cover. A belch of black smoke spills out, and they pull their hand back.

(Sugarkitten) Sugarkitten keeps her ears perked up and alert as she feels the van accelerate away and they all depart. She seems to be on high-alert already, her eyes and ears weren't always pointing in the same directions and she concentrated on the interactions going on inside the van while listening out for anything strange outside. She kept bracing for the moment they would physically leave the bubble and wondering how it would begin to affect her. On the other hand snacks were good, and would help to keep up the energy. "Mmm.. strawberry! I'm called Sugar and.. I totally love sugar!" she says and lightens up a little and digs into the box of strawberry biscuits perhaps it was her nerves but she seemed to enjoy them.

To the driver who asked how she'll be an asset she explains. "I'm more of a critical thinker, I'll be using my brain to solve any issues we may run into if things get difficult. I have limited damaging capacity, but there are tools I can use to my advantage. I'm also bringing some equipment to cut and weld metals if the engineers fuck something up, but we're all hoping that isn't the case.. and thankfully I can heal quickly, and I respond well to medication" she adds, in between bites. Those bites become more rapid as she feels things get more difficult, taking the pistol back from Greyson she nods with gratitude, then asks "Whats the fucking deal!" her tails not whipping with frustration.

(Junes) Junes offers as well "but yeah i can heat any of this food up in a pinch too" hearing the sound they check back and raise a few tails with the sound of a sputtering engine however hearing it was just that they calmed but tried to keep an ear out. the sound of an engine, snacking and the cloying scent of horse made it pretty difficult however and decided to focus on the inside of the inside of the van to avoid any fumes "okay...tech is one department that im not great in, plants animals sneaking and out of bubble excursions however? are right up my alley...so i would suggest we stay calm, figure out who works on it and do some stretches since nanites will not be making this any easier on us so limbering up is going to be important while running around" with that they stretch in their seat and lift those legs away from the others

(Xerxia) Xerxia state's "well i can say for one thing the rest of the convoy is speeding off but so far i see nothing wanting to harm us besides getting hungry and thirsty" now wonders if they can spot a cool rock and or birds.

(Greyson) Hearing the commotion, Greyson squints, the wolf's eyes peeled along the roadside for a moment before he resolves to collect his toolbox. Trundling towards the vehicle's front, a hand wafts smoke from his face, peering at the damaged innards beneath the hood as he grumbles, "This is why we oughta do stress-tests before-hand..." Flashlight in-hand, the nudist bends forwards, tail flagging over his backside to provide at least some modesty before he mutters, "Jesus Christ..." Looking up, he waves Kate and Bobbie over, calling out, "Gonna be a few hours, need some heavy lifting and a good spot by the roadside for us to peel this poor bastard apart, pack some snacks and keep an eye out, still a long ways out from the FOB! See if we can't get somebody on the line from the other teams to lend us a transport if things go well up there!" He turns, opting to mingle now amidst the group of engineers, sorting salvage and the equipment necessary to produce the impromptu repair bay they'll need for the forseeable future.

(Narwen) Stepping on the hot, hard asphalt barepaw is painful. The dirt by the wayside is better, but still studded with gravel. It _hurts_ here, in a way that it wouldn't seem to back in Fairhaven.

(Narwen) Greyson and the engineers crowd around the broken-down machine and take turns poking at it. Wink seems to get pushed to the front, and he nods glumly at Greyson's diagnosis. "Sorry," he murmurs, stroking a long-fingered hand along the side of the machine. "Gonna take me hours to work my magic."

(Narwen) "No, we haven't got time for that, and we're gonna need you later," Bobbie replies. "Jo, you stay here, get it patched up best you can. We'll tow you home on the way back if we need. Red, you stay and keep an eye on them. Jo, you keep an eye on Red," she adds, quieter.

(Narwen) The coyote is already scanning the horizon, swinging the rifle wildly this way and that. "I heard that! Don't think I didn't hear that."

(Narwen) The rat ducks under the gun and plants a kiss on one of Red's ears. "I know. You be safe. Head home on foot if we're not back by nightfall. All right, rest of you, saddle up. We're already behind."

(Sugarkitten) Sugarkitten is already hating the way she's starting to feel although it probably was just those first-time adjustments, she whispers to herself "I'll adapt, I'll survive, coming back alive.." a few times to ground herself. The scents and cramped conditions of the van actually were bothering her so she nods to Junes "Yeah actually I think I'm gonna get out and take a stretch" she says and makes her way out of the van to get some fresh air and look around at the view from outside of the Fairhaven bubble. It wasn't something she wanted to admit but there was a strange tightness in her chest, like she was learning how to breathe for the first time. While avoiding the smoke from the engine she just paces around the outside taking deep breaths of the fresh air and stretching out her muscles as Junes had suggested. She steers clear of Greyson and the engineers however, opting to let them work things out. Instead she examines the modifications made to her Laser Pistol and familiarizes herself with the new configuration although she doesn't stray far from the van, staying within a couple of meters. While outside she does observe the general condition of the wheels and other superficial things about the vehicle idly.

(Junes) Junes after some more stretching and seeing the feline troubled and leaving decided to pat the other merc "hey, i never caught your name but wanna join us outside? i sort of forgot to say but" walking outside and coming up to the stretching feline they offer her and the other mutants "hey there you alright?" as their tail pops into sugar's vision then the rest of the chimera "it takes some getting used to, the lack of healing, aches from muscles straining on their own without nanite assisted strength and of course that feeling of energy or even to some, safety no longer being there bathed in nanites but we have eachother alright?"

(Xerxia) Xerxia notes down a striped rock? on the side of the road as they whisper "a new rock for the collection"

(Greyson) Gingerly treading along the hot asphalt, the lupine winces, though a strange contentment seems to wash over his features, realizing the /reason/ behind the pain itself, mumbling a curse to his own nanites under his breath. Setting his tools down along his 'spot' in the van, Greyson wipes his brow, glancing up towards Bobbie with a mutter, "You... sure that guy's gonna make it out there? With that trigger finger I'd put mako on the yote putting a few /more/ holes in the engine- or an engineer, at this rate."

Eyes flitting to the side at Junes' sentiment, the wolf snorts, "Well- all things considered, sure beats feeling like you're in stasis all the time... actually feel /alive/ out here. I'd argue it was peaceful- if... we could get some AC going in here regularly. If you've got any memories from before P-day, try to keep away from anything that'd put you in a hospital... we might have /some/ support, but I'd still recommend not catching a few stray bullets or getting under anything /real/ heavy and /real/ unstable." The rock is addressed with a stoic nod, a slight grin across the man's muzzle as it's swiftly stowed.

(Sugarkitten) Sugarkitten lets out a sigh and regroups with herself and with Junes, Xerxia and Greyson. Her eyes are attracted to the rock "Beautiful striations.." she statees and looks up and smiles through the discomfort "Yeah we have each other, lets all get back to paradise in one piece" she says firmly and her tails split in two opposite directions, one wrapping Junes' waist and the other wrapping Xerxia's waist and giving them both a light squeeze before releasing again.

(Narwen) The rat buckles in, then turns around in her seat towards the wolf. "He'll be fine. He spent a few years out here. He's twitchy, but there's nobody I'd trust more." Then, one ear flicks and she lowers her voice further, so it's barely audible. "An' he'll be safer here than where we're going, I'll bet creds to coffee." Then she clears hear throat and turns back to the wheel, leaning on it to blare the horn. "Come on, daylight's burning!"

(Junes) Junes was surprised feeling the tail but decided to hug the feline for emphasis and agreed with greyson "exactly! feeling our muscles working truly on their own, the feeling of the nanites prescence being gone and...the strange feeling of the unknown out on the horizon seeing just how much else has changed while we've been away" they seem content and look to the two they were near and noticed what caught their eye "nice!" with that they lead the others back to the van and reach a hand outside the window to pat the side, a classic signal to get a move on "i think we're ready!"

(Narwen) The convoy rolls on for a couple of hours before coming to a stop. You can see the other teams' vehicles a few blocks away. They're already getting busy, and you hear the occasional crash or sharp crack. Over here, you're not in the faded bubble of the busted server, but the nanite-sensitive can sense the faintest tingle of its influence reaching out here. It can't spread this far, but it wants to.

(Narwen) At some point it did, judging by the tattered state of the buildings -- or maybe that's just a couple of decades of neglect. This used to be a town; there's an apartment block next to you, and what looks like a post office and a goods store across the way, both long since looted. A crumbling parking garage looms over them.

(Narwen) "All right, stay sharp," calls Bobbie, ears up. "Stay _out_ of the bubble until we get the all-clear." The rest of her team starts stretching sore muscles and collecting their gear. She turns back to you. "It's your show from here until we're needed."

(Junes) Junes mentions aloud while assisting greyson with getting everything out of the van and into neat piles "okay, greyson you seem like the perfect one to keep an eye and give us long range support, i can sneak very well and perhaps if needed clear a path or spot with you to get everyone else into the building but ideally we should find a way inside that is unseen or obscured to be sure the engineers have a straight shot alongside us. so i suppose the better question is, would you all prefer a slower stealthy approach when we're ready to head inside or a quicker quieter one that relies more on speed so we can make it in before anyone is the wiser?"

(Sugarkitten) Sugarkitten heads out of the van ready, she has her Laser Pistol with her with the safety engaged, she has her shades down. She had a few hours to get used to being outside the bubble. The most notable thing was that the arcs of electricity that danced between her horns had stopped glimmering, her hair had stopped shimmering and her tongue was kept in tightly within her mouth it didn't feel as stretchy. She gives a glance over the organized piles and her ears perk, her OCD felt satisfied. Grabbing one of the packs of TIG welding rods, she stuffs a couple dozen into her pocket, and looks around the area. "Stealthy." she states quietly in reply to Junes, keeping her voice and presence low and tails glow had also faded.

(Xerxia) Xerxia Proceeds to pick out a nice looking piece of rebar from some nearby rubble and starts just poking the ground in any attempt to ensure safe ground standings

(Greyson) Taking the brief lull to review the equipment within the van, Greyson's digits flit and flick over the myriad triggers and handles present, adjusting whatever may be crammed or pinned within the back of the vehicle, unrestraining loose pieces of equipment that'd been snugly attached to their former lodgings, setting weapons and tools out in easily reachable spots, ready to go at a moment's notice. The fighting may've been far in the distance for now, but between the delicate condition of the surrounding buildings and the potential for violence further inside, the wolf seemed intent on not taking chances. Glancing towards the driver's seat, he calls, "How's it looking up there, chief? We got a gameplan once we're inside, assuming there's anything left? This place looks like it's been run down since P-day... not sure how sturdy all this is gonna be to work with if things go pear-shaped."

At Junes' musings, the wolf nods, though he pauses, shrinking briefly in on himself, "Rather we don't get started on moving /too/ early... patience first. If it turns out we'd like to get involved, stealth nor speed are my strong-suit... just go slowly, clear things out from the outside /first/, and get help where we can... we're not racing against any clock, as far as I know. The bubble server's fragile, /real/ fragile if the place around here's anything to go by," He nods towards the surrounding shopping centre and apartment complex, "we don't want to touch any more than we have to just to poke around. Whatever happens, get ready to retreat and draw any threats /outside/ rather than trying to work around them being in the picture."

(Narwen) The sounds of combat from down the street grow louder. You hear a crump-whistle, followed by a flash. You feel and hear the sudden boom of an explosion at the same time, shaking the ground. Glass tinkles in the buildings all around. The echoes of the boom die away, but the shaking doesn't; it's almost like being in an earthquake. A deep groaning sound, as of metal twisting, comes from the parking garage, and you can feel immense movement through your feet. The building seems to loom over you, and at first it looks like a trick of perspective -- but no, the building really is leaning, or at least one of its walls is. Faster than seems possible, a wave of rubble is coming towards the group -- including the vehicles.

(Sugarkitten) Sugarkitten blinks a few times, her eyes glance around at the surroundings and she brings her hand to shield the sensitive optics of her pistol as she takes a moment to holster it away not wanting it to get covered in dust and malfunction. Where she'd just hopped out of the truck and admired the neatness of the equipment found herself instinctively scooping up handfuls and piles of gear in each arm. Along with her ambidextrous prehensile tails reacting and each of them also grab onto as much equipment as they could each carry although she didn't have time to prioritise it was more of a sudden involuntary movement preceding her leaping directly back inside the truck where she just came out. Although all that's seen is a vaguely Sugar shaped blur and a strained mewl of surprise could be heard. She stares up at the ceiling hoping it wouldn't crumple in on her where she took shelter in the van and waited for the sounds to stop and the ground to stop shakin.

(Junes) Junes was crouching low and slinking to really show how they get around but, the shadow below was almost unnoticed as they manage to barely dodge and quickly looking to the others quickly noticed the danger and leapt at bobbie with those tails wrapping behind them to soften the roll and landing avoiding the rock that nearly hit her!

(Xerxia) Xerxia Knows they are not going to get out of the way in time so they heroicly hold their hands up to stop some rubble from falling on the backhoe and with a surge of hysteria they manage to save the backhoe from its demise while taking some hits on their armor.

(Greyson) Snapping himself out of a daze, the wolf-beast scuttles behind the van, dragging a bundle of nearby equipment with him as he races behind the van. With the blur of noise and rubble, the wolf-beast tosses the gear behind himself, waving wildly towards the remaining engineers, directing them to stand beside him and hold tight to the sides of the van, the lupine's face strained with effort as his eyes practically boggled from his skull, letting the building and rubble crash around him as he attempts to tune out the chaos around himself.

(Narwen) The rubble comes crashing down as the building collapses -- but thanks to Charlie Team's swift reactions, nearly everyone and everything is unscathed. There is an anxious moment when Kate, unpacking her toolkit with her back to the building, is taken unawares and disappears under a pile of broken concrete -- but then, with a roar, she hulks her way out, standing there panting and wiping dust from her snout. She snorts, tosses her horn, and gives the building a Look. "And stay down," she snarls, stabbing a stubby finger at it. The only victim is the tractor, knocked over by a jagged block of concrete.

(Sugarkitten) Sugarkitten pulls up her shades and was thankful they'd protected her from the glass, dust and debris that had flown around. Scrambling around the van she checks the food and the cooler making sure the supplies were safely secured realising if things went real bad they could be stuck out here surviving for days or more. She shudders at the thought. Then she glances outside thinking about the other team members, her heart wrenched and she couldn't bear the thought of something bad happening to any of them.

Biding her time she stays inside the van quietly, and stealthily setting the equipment she'd brought in with her into neat stacks again making a mental note of the gear she'd recovered and what had been lost in preparation to report to Greyson and the others. If they'd survived, and also mentally prepared herself to continue the mission if she had to. Grabbing the mic from the comm unit she hits transmit "This is Charlie team, do you receive? There's been a structural collapse, I'm currently alone in the van.. I'm not sure what's going on outside. Please advise." she calls out a few times, repeating the message a few times.

She checks outside the vehicle for a while trying to assess the situation, to give more details. She adds to the message "..I don't think we're alone, possible enemy presence, please advise urgently, this is Charlie Team! Backup needed!" she whispers into the comm unit clutching the mic hard and waits the others to regroup, and braces herself for action readying her Laser Pistol in her left hand again, holdin onto the mic with hir right hand.

(Junes) Junes noticing the odd large shape junes decided to tell the others near them quietly "yep something is in there so try to keep your cool we might be able to avoid or spring up on it or draw it away but lets decude, greyson could you get a better look from a scope? depending on our vans equipment we may be able to sneak it in...or even disguise this thing as a golem and drive right inside if theyre distracted enough and we sell it but thats a risky move...maybe just getting a better idea on the situation and getting some prep in based on what we're working with!"

(Xerxia) Xerxia sniffs the air sensing the smell of rotten meat they try to steel their nerves grimacing at the smell of a possible dead body.

(Greyson) Panting amidst the settling dust cloud of debris, Greyson wheezes, a dustcloud spiraling from his muzzle as he sneezes, his pounding heartbeat forcing blood across every part of his frame, including a now steadily pulsing replacement stick-shift between his thighs. Luckily, the aforementioned S.U.C.K. device in the wolf's bag seems to keep him lucid for the time being, the more lucid of his two heads peering into that smoke cloud before waving those beside him down, a low hiss to his voice as he whispers, "/Get down... something's up out there and I think we just dropped a building on the damn thing.../"

The rattling of his comms device causes the lupine to grumble, whispering into its microphone, "/Greyson here, can confirm three with me, Mike, Legs, Wink, anyone else is out and about... fingers crossed they're alright. Just sit tight... don't make any sudden movements... not sure this rig's in any condition to drive and I've got |no| idea what the hell that thing is out there./"

Another sigh tumbles from the canid's snout, "/I don't know about you, but this isn't the time for arts and crafts... I'll... have to see what state the road's in- and the van itself. Whatever's in there, we oughta wait for the dust to settle or for it to /move/... I don't wanna get close to it before I know what 'it' is..."

(Sugarkitten) Sugarkitten stares at the radio unit and her ears twitch several times, believing she heard a voice in the static though it was just her imagination. Then she hears Greyson and she lets out a breath she hadn't realize she'd been holding the whole time.. "..Greyson.. its Sugar, I managed to haul most the stuff into the van, it seems intact from here but I got a vague idea theres something we won't want to take head on that's in the way of the mission. I'm glad you got the others safe." she says and then turns to the back of the van as the wind blows and spooks her, now paranoid as hell. "Is there anything in the truck I can bring out to you..?" she suggests, perhaps making use of her position inside. Although she started to feel too much like a sitting duck after a while. "My pistol is ready to melt anything if it comes to it, I've kept the dust off it." she added speaking to Greyson through the comms, quietly.

(Junes) Junes used their tails as a cover across their face and body to block the debris and a tiny sniffle and cough breathing some in. looking at bobbie and helping her up with arms and tails lifting and then retracting from the woman "sorry about that, adrenaline and all that from falling rocks." glancing to the others and asking slightly quieter "is everyone else okay?" they say and were surprised to see most were intact but double checked to see how everyone was faring, seeing a vehicle over but the rest seemingly fine if dinged from smaller rocks

(Xerxia) Xerxia Senses that the smell comes from a dead skunk but they also go alert with the waft of some predator's smell they whisper to whoever is nearby "careful...predator's are nearby don't know what though"

(Greyson) Whispering into the comms unit, the wolf murmurs, "/We're on the other side of the van... just- see if you can pry it open just enough for me and the others to slip inside, not sure how dented that thing's gotta be or if it's gonna be jammed, but it'll have to do. Somebody else is out here on the road with us and there's no telling just who or what it /is/... Gonna be a while til this cloud settles, and the safest place is gonna be inside." Greyson rolls his shoulders, deciding for now that there's safety in numbers, standing firm in his position beside Mike, Legs, and Wink.

Scanning the scene briefly, he flicks his gaze towards a patch of rubble stood on-end, nudging the closest of the engineers beside him and hissing, "/Hey, if any've you are a good shot, got some cover right there... need a team of two, one forward-facing, one on the back... I'm gonna try to see if the van's in decent shape and pick through whatever the hell we can make use of if Sugar can get that door open, if you've got any preferences, now's a good time to ask.../"

(Narwen) You hear the crunch of gravel coming from behind you. Someone's there! You whip around to look, and see three dog-like creatures riding fat-tired mountain bikes. They skid to a stop dramatically, spraying dirt and chips of stone, then slapping a paw down on the ground one after another. They're each wearing black leather jackets with studs or spikes, ripped black jeans, and shades with neon pink or green rims. Their fur rises in a mohawk-like mane, dyed bright colours. Hyenas! You hear more movement -- a clacking sound, from a bike with something shoved in the support to slap against the spokes as they go around -- and two more ride into view, back behind you. Then two more, to the side. You're surrounded!

"Hey you!" one of them snarls. "You're on our turf!"

"Yeah! So you owe us a toll. And tax."

"And a new larder!" the third one adds, pointing to the collapsed parking garage.

"And dinner," says the first one, licking his jaws pointedly. After a second, they break out into cackling laughter at that.

(Narwen) The team had some warning that danger was coming, and most of the engineers were able to duck into at least partial cover in time. Still, with hyenas on all sides, it's hard to be fully safe.

(Sugarkitten) Sugarkitten replies to Greyson "Acknowledged." and then there is some tapping sounds in the van, then she pulls down her shades. "..Greyson, you and everyone should close your eyes" she says before setting her Laser Pistol to CUT on the lowest setting that would make the most sense and starts to burn a hole in the side of the van Greyson and the others were gathered. There wouldn't be much noise or sparks as it was a laser cutting the metal, not some industrial machine but it was still dangerous for a stray beam to hit one of their eyes by accident. She keeps going until enough was cut away to let her just grab the rest with her claws and bend it over and created an access hatch for the team to enter the van from their side. She reaches her paw out to help the crew into the van one-by-one and was happy to see them safely aboard once again. "Alright, regrouped, lets get tactical." she says, fiddling with her gun some more and putting the safety back on.

(Junes) Junes hears the commotion and as the group approached they slink and crawl on the ground using tails to move like an insect scuttling between cover and plantlife slowly working their way to flank the hyenas, glancing at them to see if they were able to notice the scaled sleuth

(Xerxia) Xerxia glares at the hyenas with frenzied war torn eyes and starts walking towards them still clad in their armor until they reach the face of one hyena and makes sure that they can see the cold viscous eyes and says "how would you like to taste your own teeth while I STRANGLE YOUR MATES WITH YOUR OWN INTESTINES!" never looking away from the hyena they are talking to.

(Xerxia) Xerxia while also reaching for a "gun/knife"

(Greyson) Rolling his shoulders and taking a deep, calming breath, Greyson steps up from his position against the van. Naked, and rather deep in rut, the paradoxically civilized wolf-beast cups a hand to his mouth, shouting, "Got all of that and /then/ some if you end up letting us pass, pals, even more than that if you're willing to pitch in." He jabs a finger in the direction of the distant flashes and cracks, towards the old admin building and the power station beyond. "That right there is a nanite server and a power station waiting to be built, something this place obviously hasn't seen in a /while/. Look around you and you tell me this place hasn't seen better days? The shit we're doing just a few miles down the road is gonna lead to your wounds getting knit up from every scrap you decide to take on that's bigger than you can chew, make damn well sure you won't croak if you don't get another meal, and guarantee you've got /plenty/ more people to ride down and ransom if you feel like it."

He flicks a finger towards one of their cycles, "If living til you get greys and having more to eat than you've ever had out here doesn't sweeten the pot, when's the last time that thing saw an oil change, a new pair of tires that wasn't torn off some old half-chewed scrapheap?" He thunks the side of the rubble-strewn van, grunting, "This right here's been refit from the ground-up, nanite-hardened by some of the best mechanics this side of the Mississippi, selling shit to Zephyr, RSX, and over /half/ of the independent population of Fairhaven. We've got a team of gunsmiths, armorers, technicians, medics, you /name/ it, coming up with us to get things running for the next few /months/ once this thing's off the ground, and I /doubt/ that's gonna stop any time soon. If you wanna keep chowing on half-rotten carcasses in a buncha beat-up ruins, riding wheels on the verge of collapse, and with some guns just as likely to blast you as any of your company, be my /guest/. What I'm offering you is the chance at seeing this place turned into a fuckin' playground compared to the one or two groups of stragglers you get a year, /and/ some shiny new toys to run it with to boot."

The man digs into his pack, whipping out the compact chainsaw from his bag, a barbed, cruel-looking set of blades unfurling from their lodgings as it's extended to its full length, "And if you want /proof/?" He pulls the cord, sparking the brutal-looking device to life, the wolf shouting over it to be heard, "You're MORE than welcome to take THIS as a taste of what else we got on offer!"