Round Mountain Blues

(RP Event on 3/18/2012, ran by Leraji, with a cast of Redd, Smokie, Darkwyrm, Loki, Aidan, and Enaari)

New Dawn is busy with activity as the last of the trucks are loaded with supplies. They are large military-looking vehicles with open truck beds and canvas toppers that look like they could handle a bit of offroad activity if needed, five of them in total. Each truck bears the RSX corporate logo on their doors, and each truck has a driver - random mutants pulled from the ranks of the Promethians, it seems. The lead vehicle is a rugged looking hummer, and there are two humans standing next to it - a harried looking man in a white buttoned-down shirt, smoking a cigarette, and a rugged looking woman in a flak jacket and BDU pants. As you arrive at the compound, you are all directed towards Steven. As soon as enough people are gathered, he whistles, then waves everyone over.

Loki grins as he views Steven and quickly makes his way over to the man, offering both a nod and a wave. "Hello there! I remember you from the mission assigned in woodfield. I take it that you are well?" he inquires, his tail twiching a little in place, his gaze then turning to the woman beside him, tongue flitting out of his mouth as his head tilts in turn. "And hello mrs.... person I have not met before." he chirps.

Enaari looks around at the assortment of activity going on, carefully making her way over to Steven. Her antenna twitch constantly, trying to take in all the smells and sounds. She stands a fair distance behind loki, all the while looking around.

Aidan follows the directions for the two human, her nose twitching as she looks around a bit surprised by this joint mission. She shrugs a bit, before heading towards Steven and greeting him. She spots Loki as well, giving a wave with her paw but otherwise waiting for Steven to talk.

"Woah, haven't seen trucks like this in forever." A hyena looks around, almost happily, at the six of the operation. Bent upon the ground, onto four paws, she has to look up at most of the action, but to say she's a lost dog is entirely wrong. Carrying an m16 slung across her back, and a duct-taped crowbar crossing it, and dressed in motorcycle leathers, she looks somewhat like she could be something out of Mad Max. Her ears perk up at the whistle, which gives an extra bounce to her step as she pads toward the worse-for-wear hummer.

Darkwyrm walks into the chaos with a pack slung over his shoulder and a skeptical look on his face. "Noisy and unorganized, I see.", he mumbles. He walks up to someone looking to be in charge of organizing and gives thema short nod. "Is this where the convoy will be starting from?", he asks.

The suit-less suit takes a drag on his cigarette, and nods his head at the dragon. "Doing well, doing well. It was.... Loki, right?" The man grins. "I suppose you all got the basics." He pauses, one hand taking his cigarette and waving it at the trucks while the other smooths down his purple Hello Kitty tie. "What we need are for our trucks, full of the Promethian's supplies, to make it out to a town called Round Mountain." He pauses a moment to eye the group, then nods, apparantly satisfied with what he sees. "Round Mountain is a long ways off. Outside of the bubble. That means this could be a dangerous mission, but you people look like you can handle yourselves. The lost their stockpile to ferals last month, and people -are- going to starve to death if they don't get food, people -will- die if they can't get some fresh medical supplies. I'm sending one of our best agents with you, Miz Jeanine here. She's officially head of security, so unless you need any supplies or equipment I'm turning you over to her."

Enaari raises her hand, jumping a little to get noticed over the standard sized mutants.

The woman, Jeanine, eyes the group over with a much more critical eye. Then she shrugs. "Thanks, Steven." She's fit and athletic, and looks like she's been through her share of fights; she leans back against the hummer, though as Steven sees Enaari's waving hand. "Yea?" the man calls out.

Arriving late, Redd gleefully spots Smokie and heads towards her, sitting down beside while he listens.

Enaari pushes her way to the front, taking care not to knock around her abdomen to much. "Mister...how far away is it exactly? Could you give us a rough estimate?" She blinks, her lower pair of arms moving to her hips. "I mean, I dont want to be stuck out there for weeks."

Smokie walks up behind the others, just after the introductions. Apparently, one of the two were in charge... The earthbound hyena sits back on her haunches as she listens, round ears perked up, short, brushy tail wagging.

Loki offers a grin and a nod. "Indeed it was." he chirps, then shakes his head. "No, I do not see the need of any additional armaments myself. Have what I need with me at all times." he says, shifting from place to place. "So it is just ferals? Or may we expect more?" he asks, adressing both Seven and Jeanine, then holding out a hand towards her. "Pleased you meet you miss!" he chirps, then seems to remember something and offers his other hand towards Steven, though he seems to have his arms crossed in front of himself making the gesture look a little awkward.

Darkwyrm sits down on a stack of crates and sets to polishing his weapon and making sure all of his supplies are ready at hand while waiting for the time of departure.

Aidan turns to Jeanine. The fox is acting quite formal, just waiting for the permission to talk. She doesn't enthusiast at all about that, but she just shrugs from time in time. At Steven's question, she shakes her head. "I don't need additional armaments, thank you." the fox says respectfully, before giving her full attention to Jeanine.

Steven takes another puff of his cigarette while Jeanine fields the questions. "If we had a clear road, it'd take maybe three or four hours to drive out there, and again back," she supplies, first nodding at Enaari. "With the unknown condition the roads are in, it might take us six hours or a whole day. Certainly not a week, though." Next she turns to Loki. "As far as we know, just ferals. We don't expect any bandits on the road, but this is a lot of supplies so we have to be prepared. I can take four other people in the hummer," she says, then pauses and looks over the dragons. "Fewer if they're big. Everyone else gets to ride with a truck. This DOES have the potential to be dangerous, people... if you get killed out there, outside of the bubble, that is it. And don't expect to be throwing around fire balls and bolts of lightning. If you want to back out now, you can. Otherwise, we're mounting up and rolling out."

Loki frows a little at the lack of handshakes and lets his hands fall down to his sides and offers a nod. "Would not have taken the mission if I did not know of the consequences. People need help and somebody has to do it." he says, then casting a wave to Aidan. "It is good to see you are well as well!" he smiles.

Smokie nods up to Redd happily, before turning back to the task at hand. The hyena nods, and speaks softly with a gruff voice, "First time out of the bubble... Good thing I have this." She pats the butt of her M16 with her paw, mentally thanking Redd for installing the lighter trigger and the larger triggerguard for her. "It can't be that bad, can it?"

Darkwyrm stands up and chuckles. "Poor people who rely on powers n' such. All I need is my weapon and I'll be good." He gestures to Steven and calls, "I don't feel like flying, I'll take a spot in tha' hummer."

"I'll happily ride in the back of a truck, or on a roof, I'm used to that sort of treatment by this point anyhow," Redd's happy enough to at least be offered a ride, rather than having to wing it out there.

Enaari nods a bit, looking around at everyone else. She switches her weight from one foot to the other. "If..its allright with everyone, I'd like to go in the hummer...I dont take up much space..if thats allright..."

Aidan wags her tails nervously, hearing Dark's comment. Still, she gives a look to her arm, a lick on her sharp teeth, a pat on the blade on her side. "At least I was smart enough to take some bullets with me..." she says to herself, even if she doesn't seem to carry any firearm. Then, she turns to the woman. "I'm good both in short and long range, so no real preference about my vehicle."

Smokie shrugs her shoulders some. "I've got a gun, but I'm good with my teeth. Put me wherever you need me." She nods again, crossing her paws on the ground.

Jeanine flashes Darkwyrm a grin and grabs her P90 out of the back of the hummer, then circles around to take the shotgun seat.

Everyone else loads up in their chosen position, and the trucks in the convoy come to life one by one, the engines a loud, low rumble. Jeanine uses the CB radio in the hummer to check in with each driver and make sure they're reday, and each of the escorts (that's you) is given the frequency for your coms. The roads immediately around Fairhaven have been picked relatively clean over the last three years, at least to the point where the trucks don't have to stop to clean obstacles, and then the convoy hits the highway north out of town.

Loki offers a nod to the group, the dragon weaving around the assorted vehicles before clambering up on top of one of the trucks, content to sit upon the top for now and spreads his wings as he stretches himself out as he waits for departure.

Enaari's face is plastered to the glass, watching the buildings and landscape go by. She is rather quiet, but every so often her antenne twitch.

"So," Jeanine calls over the radio. "Looks like we got a good posse of gunslingers and scrappers here," she says. "Anyone want to declare any specialties before we get into a situation where we'd need them?" The trucks roll on down the highway, taking it easy at thirty-five to account for the non-existant road maintanence and occaisional wreck. At one point the group passes a patch of asphalt that seems to have been melted down into glass; at another, they have to detour around a spot where the pavement was torn up in some kind of giant beast's wallow. The entire time, though, the convoy is the only thing that can be seen moving for miles and miles around - no other signs of civilation, just it's discarded remnants left behind to litter the countryside.

Enaari manages to tear her face away from the glass for a few moments to coo, "I'm Enarri, and I punch things." She goes back to looking at the landscape going by.

Darkwyrm pushes the button on his comm and says, "Darkwyrm, Stealth-Ops here.. if you need something done quietly or behind lines, that's me." He pauses for a moment then adds, "Failing that, I've got enough armor to be front-line." He closes his comm and takes this time to take a little snooze. He crosses his arms over his chest and leans against the window of the vehicle. Before he closes his eyes, he glances at Enaari and says, "Wake me up if we get attacked en-route." More of a courtesy than anything, because mroe than likely any sudden noises or movement of the vehicle would wake him up anyway.

Aidan makes a test with her com, before answering to the question. "I'm focused on melee range, but I'm perfectly able to shot opponents on the long range." she replies, sit on one of the trucks as Loki is doing. She has her racer goggles on, protecting her eyes from dust and wind, and she stares around, not trusting the calm. "I know how to move around in these wastelands, and I'm confident about my knowledge of tactic and ambushes."

"This is Smokie, I shoot shit and bite things." She grins a moment to herself, as she lays in the back of the middlemost cargo truck. "And you don't need to give me field rations, if you let me drag off a corpse or two."

Loki thinks a little, the dragon then responding through radio. "I am proficient at mechanical, computer work. Can construct many things should you need, and I am also proficient at demolitions. Able to also quickly identify organics and mutations."

"I'm half decent at tearing things apart, be they at claws length or 500 meters away." At the last part Redd chuckles a moment and adds, forgetting to turn the comm off, "And I've got enough explosives to make an artillery regiment jealous."

"Fantastic," Jeanine calls back. The hummer slows down a little, and she leans forward in her seat, peering at the road ahead with her binoculars. "Huh. Looks like we've got a section of the road washed out ahead." She visually sweeps the surrounding terrain. "Doesn't look like an ambush site but keep on your toes." Up ahead the road dips between two hills, and at the bottom a stream has cut its way through the road. The gap is about six feet wide, and four or five feet deep - hitting it at speed could really jostle the cargo, and the hummer might bottom out. The convoy slows down to a crawl as it gets closer. "Any quick ideas?"

Loki cranes his neck upwards and nods to Aidan. "Well I do hope we manage all right." he smiles, then peering closer to the small river. "Well there is always the slowing down option unless you would want us to haul some trees over and make a rudimentary bridge." he muses, his tail flicking out behind him. "Though we may not be able to do that depending on how heavy the trucks are... all depends."

Smokie has since idly made her way up onto a crate, cradling her modified rifle in her paws as she waits. She stares out the back over the tailgate, at the truck behind her and the landscape ruching by. "Can't go around?" The hyena sighs, "I'll go across, check if the coast is clear."

There is a copse of smaller trees a good half mile up river, and empty, overgrown prarie downriver. The trucks are large enough they could make it across, slowly and carefully, with assitance but without a bridge the hummer will have to go around.

Darkwyrm opens his eyes, woken from the comm chatter. "Mmmrgh? Trees? What?", he says to himself before leaning out the window to survey. "Road is out? Bummer." He opens the door and steps out, stretching his arms and legs.

Jeanine shifts her weight in her seat, eyeing the surrounding territory while she replies. "Great. Check it out. Are you going to try building something, or do you want me to find a way around while you help the trucks cross?"

Loki stands up straight and stretches himself out as he once again spreads his wings wide. "So! Who is up for bringing trees back with me?" he asks, the dragon already hopping off the truck and making his way towards the trees, tail twitching behind him. "If we build a bridge now it will make future expeditions easier along with the return trip." he calls out. "Anybody follow my logic?"

"A bridge could work... but takes time. And I'm not sure that a dam would be still there when we'll be moving back. I don't think we have the instruments to create something... durable." Aidan says, starting to look around with a nervous look, seeking for any.

Aidan says, "I'm seeking for another way, planning a team to build a real bridge when we'll back back home."

"Could we fill the gap with soil from uphill? I think I could probably get a fair amount loose from the hillsides. That would leave moving the dirt and rock by hand though." Redd contemplates this versus a bridge. "Anybody willing to get dirty? We'll have to return this same route, I bet, and something could destroy or wash out a bridge while we're gone," He frowns. "Do we have any sheet metal in the trucks?"

Darkwyrm sighs. "If we have a way of cutting logs laterally down the middle, we could lay two halves across the gap, and the vehicles can drive over them.", he says. "It wound't take so much time, and it's just as good as a bridge, althought the hum-vee will need to drive very straight and carefully."

After a brief consultation with her driver, Jeanine shakes her head. "No sheet metal. Mostly food and medical supplies." She looks around at the others, then off towards the trees, and then back to the gap.

The hyena slings her rifle as she disembarks from her crate, and sticks her head out the side of the truck. Her tail wagging, shes looks down at the stream. "We'll have to take this slow, we may have to have the hummer go around, and the trucks wait..."

Loki sighs at the conflicting viewpoints and shakes his head. "Well... the sooner we reach a consensus the better. Build a bridge or Cross as is? Vote either or. My vote is on some sort of bridge."

Smokie sighs audible on the commset. "It'll be better to go around, and not waste our energy here... May be an ambush up ahead."

"Cross." Aidan simply says, confirming her previous statement.

Darkwyrm raises his hand. "I'm all for crossing. It'll save a significant amount of time, and we won't need to split the convey.", he says.

Loki sets duitifully about his task of building said bridge, aiming to simply hack the trees down if he can, assuming no particular difficulties he remains commited to his goal, the dragon also peering around for larger boulders he may utilize.

It takes some time, but with the help of Aidan and few of the stronger drivers you drag enough material down to plug up the hole well enough for the hummer to cross. The trucks follow after, slowly and carefully, and then the convoy hits the road again. The feeling in the air is palpable as you leave the bubble; a little disorienting as your nanites switch to their own power reserves instead of drawing on the greater supply of the bubble, but nothing too horrible.

Once again upon the truck he was on prior, Loki shudders as they exit the bubble, the dragon clearly uncomfortable for a few moments. He seems a little restless and more alert, constantly ear and nose out along with an almost relentless scanning of the distance, trying to spot threats before they become apparant. Despite appearing restless he remains rather still, and his wings spread, the dragon's silvery armour hardley glinting at all in the sun.

Darkwyrm hardly feels anything when they leave the bubble, a tickle, more than anything. Dedicated to experience as little as possible of the boring drive as he can, he attempts to resume his nap.

Aidan shivers as she slowly get less and less influence from the bubble, and when she's completely out of it, she shivers again, rubbing against her tummy. "Hungry..." she says, trying to pushing back that bad feeling from her.

Redd slows his motions considerably, as his body experiences a sudden drop in temperature, the nanites no longer able to produce the heat normally present.

Smokie lays back down in the truck, curling up as she watches the landscape drive by and feels the truck rattle. She almost begins to drift off, feeling a little dizzy as they exit the bubble. She'd never been out of the Bubble, and her body, almost completely run by nanites, was vulnerable to the change.

The next hour of the drive is fairly uneventful. There are a few times where the convoy has to slow down to move around an obstical - a derelict vehicle, broken patches of road, fallen rocks and trees, and at each Jeanine quietly goes on alert. Up ahead there are another couple of derilict cars in the roadway, and once more the convoy slows to move around them, when Jeanine tenses up and mutters out a quiet "Shi-" before one of the abandoned vehicles suddenly explodes. The blast rocks the hummer, knocking it over and then rolling it onto its roof. A half dozen bandits pop out of the opposit ditch, with a variety of weapons from clubs and axes to rifles, and they quickly advance on the convoy; the lead truck jams on the breaks at the sudden disruption, and the rest come to a halt behind it.

Darkwyrm reaches into his coat and pulls out a couple granola bars in case Aidan wants one. "They'll give you energy.", he insists. Apparently he hasn't succeeded in finding sleep yet. Then the car explodes and he finds himself in a world of hurt, upside down, still strapped to his seat by the seatbelt and slightly dazed. "D-damnit..", he groans, and fumbles for the seatbelt buckle.

Smokie had happily fallen asleep, and was dreaming peaceful dreams, when she heard the explosion. She jumps up with a loud yip, her paws going to her rifle as she jumps out of the back of the truck. "Motherfuck-" she strings curses together in a gruff voice, as she pops off rounds as surpressing fire.

Aidan doesn't lose time, and as the truck likely breaks, she lets herself falls down over the roof of the truck and faces the bandits, using the angle of the truck's roof like a cover. With a *click*, her forearm opens and readjust, revealing an integrated rifle. She takes aim and shoot at one of those armed with rifle, but at the last moment she freezes, changing the aim for the heart of the bandit to a non-vital spot.

Loki rocks in place, then turning his gaze to Aidan at the mention of the word. He sighs and rests a hand on her shoulder and offers a gentle squeeze. "I know you can beat it." is all he says, then looks to the group of cars, a small frown upon his face, the dragon tensing at the explosion and swiftly rises to his feet. He looks from bandit to bandit and scowls, looking from man to man, the dragon poised and ready, scanning the bandits for what looks like a leader. "I would whole heartedly reccomend that you set your weapons and arraments down. Conflicts outside bubbles tend to be lethal. To avoid uneccecary death and injury I suggest that you all surrender before you make any other stupid choices." he shouts, speaking loudly and clearly.

Enaari cries out as she is knocked from her sleep, tumbling from her seat and across the hummer. She groans as she comes to a rest, disorented from the blast wave and movement.

Redd is thrown off the roof of a truck by the sudden breaking, not having been prepared at all.

With a click, Dark's seatbelt disengages, and he subsequently collapses to the former ceiling of the hummer, landing on his head. With a swift kick, he sbashes open the hummer door and rolls out of the vehicle. He leaves his pack behind, but his dagger is in hand, ready to be used. He slowly gets to his feet and takes cover behind the door, lips curled in a snarl and waiting for a chance to leap out and cut some throats.

Aidan's shot drops one of the bandits, and Smokie's fire sends the rest of them scattering for cover; at this range, that means clustering near the derilict car that hadn't exploded. They hadn't expected anyone to fight back, but they aren't giving up yet; Loki gets a round in the shoulder for his trouble as one of the bandits peaks around the car, fires off a quick shot, then ducks back. In the hummer, Jeanine pulls a knife out and cuts her seatbelt free, then takes cover on the other side of the overturned vehicle, ready to fire.

Smokie sees the Hummer overturned, and curses loud enough to make a sailor cry. She rears up and staggers forward, firing as she steps, jsut a few before she falls back on her forepaws. "Damn!" She rears up again to fire, before it clicks. Empty... Shit!"

Enaari cowers at hearing shots, looking quickly around for an exit before scampering out the same door as Jeanine. She crouches down next to her, trying to make herself as small as possible, seeing thadt she really doesnt have anything helpfull against guns.

Redd pulls himself upright, and reachs into his bag, pulling a small grenade out before throwing it towards the vehicle the bandits hid behind.

"Hmph. If I could just get in close range..", Dark thinks out loud, "Their firearms will be useless against melee." Doing a few calculations in his head, he readies himself. Seeing the grenade as an ample opportunity, he dives out from behind cover and sprints right into the fray, running in a sort of zig-zag motion to make it harder for the bandits to hit him while he closes distance. When he reaches the car, he leaps right over it and slices at the nearest target's neck. <Hero> Darkwyrm spends a Hero point!

Loki roars as his shoulder is struck, the dragon not really too pleased with the shot and quickly leaps into the air straight towards the bandits with a a crackle of electricity. A loud crash resounds through the scrubland as Loki impacts with the top of the car, the vehicle crumpling under his weight, metal screaming in protest as glass shatters. He grabs the gunsman's rifle and picks the bandit up if he fails to relinquish his grip upon the arm. "I asked nicely." he growls. "The others here are not as nice as I am."

Aidan seeing the grenade flying, and at the same time two of her teammates running just were the car is, causes two reactions. The first, is having the fox to cry out 'Grenade!', the second one, to make the aim of the next shot on the base of the grenade instead, trying to intercept it middle-air. That would still causes some damage, but at least won't blow them up! <Hero> Aidan spends a Hero point!

In a display of epic marksmanship, Aidan hits the grenade mid-air; it spins off out of the engagement area and goes off a second later when the fuse ignites. Loki proves to be enough of a distraction for Darkwyrm to rush the bandits though; the jackal quickly dispatches his target before the bandit can hack into Loki with his axe, and the battle devolves into a chaotic melee, with Jeanine picking off another bandit with her automatic weapon. One of Smokie's shots clips Loki's wing, and another bandit, and then the remaining ones break for the woods... except for the one Loki is holding, who wets himself in fear. Jeanine calmly fires a few shots at the departing bandits, then looks down at the one Aidan had wounded. "Want me to finish it off?"

Enaari carefully peers out from the side of the overturned humvee. "Are they gone?" She squeaks, not used to being fired upon.

Smokie watches the chaos unfold as, with shaky paws, she tries to reload her rifle. Finally, she manages to insert another magazine, just in time to see the bandits fleeing. She drops the rifle to the ground, and rushes over to where the others are. "Is- Is everyone okay? Heart's pounding!" she pants.

"Just disarm him for question." Aidan says, taking the aim to the departing bandits but.. unable to fire again, unconsciously unable to do it even if they could lead to more troubles. She just follow them with her sharp eyes, just making sure that one of them would try to be a hero and shot them.

Darkwyrm wipes his blade clean with a cloth while he takes a few slow breaths, winding down form the chaos. He looks after the fleeing bandits and mutters, "We should hunt them down and flay them for this delay, but that will, of course, cause more delay."

Loki keeps the bandit held aloft and states at him, barely noticing the bullet or the attack from the axe. "Tell me. Why do you attack us? And are there any other groups, traps, or anything else that we should be aware of in the area?" he hisses, his teeth bared as he rises to his full height as he hoists the man farther off the ground.

Jeanine eyes the fallen bandits, the injured one, and Loki's captive. She kicks the injured bandit's weapon away, although the would-be highway robber husky is too busy clutching at his shattered hip to do anything other than wimper. Jeanine goes over and puts a shoulder into the hummer, trying to right it, then grumbles and sighs; she reaches through the broken driver's window to check on the driver, then shakes her head. For his part, Loki's captive is terrified - he tries to calm himself, though. "We... we need your stuff, man. To pay tribute. Or the boss is gonna eat us!"

Smokie, upon seeing the captured bandit, snarls some. She walks up beside Loki, on all fours, hackels raised. "Got one! Haha, lookit that! Dun pissed himself! I'd offer to eat him, but..." She tilts her head a moment. "Boss? Eat you? Psh, who'd eat a bedwetter?"

Darkwyrm walks up next to Loki and glares at the bandit. He simply says "Talk." and gives him.. the look.

Enaari makes her way out from behind the humvee, but doesn't move forward at all, happy to stay as far away from the people who shot at her as possible.

Loki grins as his captive begins to speak, the dragon tilting his head as his tongue flits out inches from his face. "Really now? Tribute? I am listening... go on. Tell me everything..." he says, his mouth slowly forming a wicked smile. "If your information proves reliable I do think I can promise you will live... if not I may very well eat you myself. Does your boss bother to cook his meals first?"

The hyena grins, showing her pearly teeth. "Come on, Mousy," she growls softly, "You can tell us."

Aidan jumps down the truck, slowly reloading her arm-rifle before 'closing' it and getting a proper arm again. She stares at the wounded bandit with a predatory look, before turning to give a fast check to the other drivers and to the conditions of the vehicles. She doesn't seem to bother about the interrogation, since there are enough people for that already. Still, her long ears are still listening to what's being said.

'Mousy' squirms and wriggles under the scrutiny and threats, and stammers. "This... this... this stretch of shit scrubland, it belongs to the High Rollers, man. Shit!" He squirms more. "Been stuck doing foraging fuck work, thought you'd be our big pay day, get us a nice cushy spot in Luccio's crew. Just let me go, I won't bother anyone again man. Please!"

Jeanine eyes the interrogation and gives the hummer another shove. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't move. She slings her P90 over her shoulder and heads for one of the trucks. "Stick the wounded guy in the back if you want to keep him. We'll have to come back for the hummer later."

Redd looks towards Jeanine, visibly saddened. "Driver's dead?" He asks, rather expecting a yes.

"I still have a medkit with me." Aidan says with a shrug, "Leaving him like that would likely kill him. But I don't plan to collect bandits. As soon as he's bandaged, we can drop him."

Loki studies the mouse for a few moments longer as he lets the man's situation ferment. "Tell you what... come with us and we can provide a much better life back in fairhaven when we get there. Lend a hand and make yourself useful and continue to answer my questions and you shall be spared. Think of it as redeeming yourself for the attack. If zephyr is not to your liking I shall offer you employment within my organization." he offers, lowering the mouse to the ground. "I will let you keep your arm for you may be useful, but turn the gun on me..." he trails off, letting the mouse's imagination run.

The soldier woman pauses a moment, and nods her head. "Yea. Took some glass through the temple. He's a goner." Then she looks over at Aidan and nods. "Alright. Let's wrap it up, though, we've got a delivery to make."

Smokie frowns up at the rat, "High Rollers? How cliche." She sits back on her haunches. "Anyways... If he wants to come along," She flashes another grin at him, "He can ride with me in the back of the truck. Tries anything funny, he'll accidently fall out..."

Enaari moves twords the back of one of the closer trucks, looking up at the rather tall back. She reaches up to try to haul herself up into one, but struggles to even reach the top. She makes her way around the back and waves to the group. "I need help getting up!" she coos.

"It's really not to our advantage to take him with us.", Dark growls. "He's injured and we'll have to tend to his wounds, and he'll also gain knowledge of where we are takign these supplies and could relay information to his 'boss' after he's released.

Aidan nods at Leraji, before moving to Loki and whispering to him. "Please..." the fox says, giving him her medkit, "Patch him up. If I stay to close, I could end up to bite him. Wouldn't be a issue for him but... I don't want these people to see it.". She gives a nods, pointing at the Rsx people, before going back to check if she can't help somehow to speed the departure. She then looks at Dark, a bit coldly, "Even if patched up, he won't run around for a long time. And our tracks are followable anyway."

After only considering the offer for a moment, the rat nods. "Hell, yea man. Anything is better than this. Just don't eat me!"

The husky continues to whimper (and bleed), while Janine watches from the passenger door of the lead truck.

"If we're gonna collect them, do it quickly.", Dark says, obvioudly not enjoying the idea of having to deal with captives. "We need to get back on the road." He walks towards one of the trucks and leans against it.

Loki nods and hops off the crushed remanents of the car and sets the mouse down upon the ground. "Follow along" he instructs, then nods to Aidan and takes the medkit. "That was the plan." he smiles, then beginning work upon the fallen husky. "I will offer you the same terms as this man. An escape from this life and the offer of one better." he smiles, lowering his hand to the hip, trying to coax the nanites to repair themselves before resorting to the contents.

Smokie looks back over her shoulder, seeing the downed husky. "Aw man, no SnooSnoo for him." She sighs. "I can watch the prisoner, put him in with me. I'll be in the middle truck." She trots away to fetch her rifle, before getting back to her truck. There's not much she could do, except try and make the husky comfortable...

Enaari walks over to darkwyrm and tugs on his jeans. "Mister Darkwyrm, I need help getting into the trucks, I'm not tall enough to reach them.." She points behind her to the one she was previously at.

The husky looks frightened; after Loki heals him, he craws a short distance away, just shaking his head. He just wants to be left alone. Jeanine makes a circling motion with her finger, then pulls the door on her truck shut and the driver creeps forward, giving the trucks behind room to spread out.

Climbing again on the truck, Aidan sits down and waits to resume the journey, looking as the husky bandit takes his leave. Rubbing her tummy and shaking her her head, she resumes to look around, careful.

Darkwyrm makes a note to inspect the hummer for anything useful that will fit in the trucks, grabbing his bag during such before returning to the truck and preparing to climb in.

Loki frowns at the frightened husky and rises to his feet. He sighs and plucks him off the ground, carrying the man to the truck he was in and sets him inside and then offers the mouse a hand up. "Please watch over the husky... I think he may be in shock." he says, then looking to see if the hummer needs to be flipped back over or repaired and help if required. If neither are needed he will salvage what he can and then clamber back into the truck he was in prior.

Smokie tosses her rifle in the back of the truck. She sighs, before jumping up into it. She didn't even look at the driver of the Hummer. It was a lot different when your own people were dying. And in that moment she realised, shit, that everyone was in it together. RSX, Big Z, Prommies. A little place for everyone in the apocalypse. She speaks into the comm solemnly, "If there's anything I can help with, just gimme a holler."

Enaari follows behind darkwyrm, trying to hop up after him, but failing. "Mister darkwyrm, help me up!" She hops again, her wings humming, but not giving her any extra height.

"I'm not a vehicle.", Dark says, turning his head to Enaari. "I can help you into the truck if you wish.", he says, holding out his arms.

Enaari takes his hands and hauls herself up, taking a seat next to him. She smiles brightly up at him and looks around at some of the boxes, her curiousity getting the better of her as she hops up, checking them out.

Darkwyrm climbs into the back of the truck and sits next to Enaari amongst the supplies, patiently waiting for the others to finish up.

Redd climbs back ontop of a truck, this time getting a solid grip with his claws, no more getting flung off.

Loki meanders over to the hummer and quickly sets to salvaging what he can. Motor. Battery, and anything else that is vital for the thing to run or has high value, lugging the bits to the back of the truck. When done he simply hops inside and waits for departure.

With the ambush dealt with, the convoy rolls on down the road. You pass along the highway through a forest, another scrubland, and alongside another forest, thick with overgrown trees. Jeanine keeps her vigil constant from the lead truck, and as the trucks begin climbing into the hills and the afternoon passes into early evening she starts radioing ahead to the destination. She finds them, on a new frequency, and gets a quick appraisal of the situation which she passes along to the others. "There are approximately fourty three survivors still in Round Mountain. They are holed up in the local YMCA, apparantly it had a bomb shelter. They've been out of food for two days now, and have a half dozen injured. A few elderly. They have a couple of able bodies willing and able to fight, but they've been concentrating on holding their position. There's an unknown number of ferals prowling the streets. A pack of wolves, apparantly, who managed to chase the townsfolk into their bolthole. I think we'll stop the convoy outside of town and send in a scout to check the situation, then make a push down main street for the Y. Suggestions? Objections? Opinions? How are you all holding up?"

Enaari radios over the comm, "Maybe we could do a kind of bait and switch, give them a juicy target then lead them into a trap?"

Darkwyrm listens intently to the report and then activates his voice input. "If you need a scout, then I can go. I can get in there undetected, reassure the survivors, assess the threat and report back."

"Anything they could tell us about said Ferals?" Redd asks quickly. "Last thing we want is to head in blind."

Smokie perks up. "Scouting? Wolves? Count me in." She grins happily. "Good idea, but alas..." She shrugs. "We oughta go in and recon. If everything's kosher, we'll set up a distraction while the convoy runs in. We have enough firepower."

"Honestly, I would suggest focus on the teamwork, before we get to the area. The last ambush showed how ill-coordinated we are. And they were just six bandits." Aidan says on the com, voice quite emotionless, "Give us the intel, but we need to be prepared. I could not be able to intercept a grenade the next time."

Loki thinks a little as the convoy travels, the dragon conversing with the mouse, and the husky if he decides to speak, trying to glean the latter and if they will co-operate with him. He perks at the radio and ponders. "How many wolves? I would think that we could eliminate the pack and liberate the people correct? I would assume there is a bubble there, or would I be wrong?" he asks. "And would it be possible to transport the whole lot of the survivors back rather than supplying them?" he inquires, then nodding to Aidan. "I concur. We need more organization. We can not go in flailing about and expect to come out unscathed." he says, then turning to the mouse. "Any details on round mountain that you can provide? Does your prior leader have any reach there or with the two wolfpacks?"

"Also, have they seen mutants before? Worst that could happen is we get there and get blasted by the guards." Redd falls silent, waiting for some response from either the town or Jeanine.

Enaari turns to dark. "My stupid comm makes my antenna feel funny...what are you anyway? Some kind of doggie thing?

Smokie chimes in, "Yeah, good point, hun. It wouldn't be the first time either... Hopefully we won't have to return fire. And hopefully... They're not so tasty."

Darkwyrm chuckles. "You could say that. I believe the specific term would be 'jackal'." he says. "And you're.. a moth? .. though unlike the ones I usually see kicking around.", he adds, taking a moment to look the curious insectoid form over.

Enaari pushes a little bit of her fur out of her face. "Well, I'm a moth yes, but a yucca moth to be percise. My mommy says we're a very rare mutation." She adjusts herself, moving her abdomen to a more comfortable location.

"They -are- mutants," Jeanine answers, calmly. She pauses a moment to confirm. "Yea. They have no idea how many. Maybe a dozen. Maybe more. And we're not fitting fourty some people and all their belongings in five trucks. We're here to deliver aid."

Smokie shrugs as her head hangs out of the back of her truck. "Well, I tell you what, I'll scout ahead and see what's up. We oughta do this right."

"Yucca moth, huh? You must be quite rare then, considerin' I've never heard of it before.. and I've been around Fairhaven for a good several years.", Dark says, scratching his chin. "Oh, blast all the comm chatter.", he growls. "I better accompany that hyena lest she do something silly."

Enaari nods. "Be careful now..." She coos, looking back at the boxes.

There is one point, just before the convoy turns off the highway to approach Round Mountain, where the lead truck starts to slow down for some animal in the road. At Jeanine's urging, though, the truck keeps right on driving and pastes the ex-critter into red goo; wether it was just in the wrong spot, or was bait for another trap, Jeanine didn't want to find out. Eventually, though, the convoy rolls to a stop at the outskirts of town. "Alright then," Jeanine directs. "You two, go have a look. The rest of you, be on your guard."

Aidan nods, looking around and already changing her forearm back to the rifle.

Smokie jumps out of the truck, before sniffing in the air. "Something smells... Tasty." She trots up to the lead car, and cringes a little, all with a skeptical hyena grin. "Mm, that looks good. I'll, er... Clean that up afterward, if you want."

Redd watches the roadkill, and looks back towards it once they pass, "I think it's been too long since I ate something, roadkill is starting to look good..."

Darkwyrm pats his dagger sheathed at his hip and climbs out of the truck. He approaches Smokie and asks, "You ever done scoutin' like this before?"

<OOC> Leraji says, "I will try to keep the split section brief. For ease of following, once Darkwyrm and Smokie start scouting, I will use [City] and [Convoy] tags before my spoofs to indicate who is where."

Smokie looks up at Dark, and shakes her head. "No, actually. Not since some Zephyr folks pulled me out of the bunker." She laughs a little, "Needless to say, that was really close after Pday."

Darkwyrm reverently says, "Alright, stick close, stay quiet, and remain aware of your surroundings at all times. Use your nose to our advantage and tell me quietly if you sense anything. My nose isn't as great, but my eyes are sharp. Your dark clothes will be advantageous, but let's stick to alleys as much as we can."

Smokie nods up to Dark, tilting her head until her neck pops. The quad-hyena smiles and says, "Sounds like fun. I've always been fairly good at hunting. Ready when you are."

Darkwyrm nods to Smokie and walks over to the convoy leader. "Jeanine, was it?", he asks. "Do you have a general location or a map of the city we could use to better locate the fitness center?" He does a few quick stretches to loosen his muscles and cracks his back while he waits for the response.

[Convoy] Jeanine nods. "I don't have a map, but the center is apparantly ten block down the main street, here, then you go left and up another four blocks." She eyes the city, clearly expecting trouble at some point. "Should be a straight shot, but it'd be nice to know the way is clear. The survivor's stockpile was four or five blocks past that."

[convoy] Roger that. "Alright miss ..Smokie? Let's go. Shouldn't be too terribly hard to locate.", he says before setting off towards the city in a fairly quick jog, but slow enough that he can muffle each footfall.

[Convoy] Loki frowns at the pasting of a critter and shakes his head, the dragon in a bit of a worse mood for the rest of the way there, the sudden stop snapping him out of his thoughts. He rises to his feet and looks around, testing for scents and sights. "I can scout by air if needed... or at least get an ariel view of things." he suggests.

[Convoy]Enaari grows bored quickly and moves to the other side of the truck, working to see whats inside the boxes.

Smokie trots up beside Darkwyrm, keeping up a swift, even pace on four legs, the only sound being made is the soft clack of her shouldered rifle, and the leaf-like scraping of her claws on the asphalt.

[City] Smokie and Darkwyrm take off into the city. Darkwyrm is, indeed, quite stealthy - just another one of the lengthening shadows stretching across the streets. Smokie isn't quite as quiet, but does well enough. She thinks, anyway. There are a few places in the streets where things were obviously killed and eaten in the last week or so, but, so far, no sightings of the wolves themselves.

[Convoy] Jeanine glances over at Loki, then shrugs. "If you want. You'd also be pretty visible yourself." The boxes in the truck that Enaari is in are, as advertised, mostly food - both perishable and canned - and bottled water.

[City] Darkwyrm makes his way towards the indicated direction, keeping a careful watch around them. His ears twitch and perk at every sound.

[City] Smokie sniffs around, her nose her main way of investigating. However, she can't help but wonder what, or who, was eaten at the gory sites, and how they tasted. Come to think of it, she is a little hungry... She also notes what is, to her, at least, a unique smell which she assumes is the wolves. Then again, she hasn't smelled any wolves but Fairhaven wolf beasts in two years.

[City] The scent is rather similar to those of the wolf beasts; not quite the same, but certainly close. And, as Darkwyrm slips past one intersection, he sees something down other road... another shadow, this one moving in the wrong direction, though. Quickly glancing the other way reveals another shape, quickly darting into cover.

[convoy]Enaari pouts and sits back down, she was hoping she could get something to eat. She turns on her comm one more, trying to listen in on the happenings in the city.

[Convoy] Aidan is always there, looking around. Funny enough, she's not looking too much in the city's direction, but more behind them or on the sides.

[City] "Shit, we're spotted.", Darkwyrm curses. "We --likely you-- are being followed. I don't know by what. At least two of them.. smell anything?" He looks around for any way of getting up on top of the roofs of the buildings so they will have an advantage against superior numbers.

[Convoy] Loki offers a simple shrug to Jeanine and thinks a little, his tail flicking from side to side. "So all we need to do is deliver the contents of these trucks and we are finished right?" he asks, the dragon beginning to stretch himself out. "And the wolves here lack guns right?"

[convoy]Enaari pipes up over the comm. "But there might be alot more than we can handle...what if you ran out of bullets when there were still thirty left?"

[Convoy] Like Aidan, Jeanine remains on her guard. "Yes. Make the delivery, and we're good. There aren't reports of them using firearms, or any kind of projectile, but there's no telling what sorts of natural capabilities the nanites left them with." She shrugs. "And if we run out of bullets, we find alternative methods."

[City] Smokie frowns, "Why's it my fault?" She growls a little, softly, as she looks back and around. She takes a cautious sniff, even as she listens to the distressing comm chatter. "Yeah... Kinda sexy... But no. You're lucky I'm not totally female, we would've been swamped." She backs up some, closer to Dark. "Tactical retreat?"

[City] It's not a clear path, but of the downtown retail establishments - it looks like it may have been an insurance office - has a stairway leading up to the second floor, and it looks like it'd be possible to climb from the top of those stairs onto the roof.

[Convoy] Loki offers a nod and leaps into the air, the dragon rapidly gaining altitude and then when he is comfortably high enough above the buildings simply soars upon the air currents, scanning the city from above, his tongue flitting out of his mouth as he peers below, scanning the streets and rooftops trying to plan a course of action and identify points of interest.

[City] "No, too late, turning around would be unwise.", Dark says. He points to the stairs alongside the building. "Let's see if we can't get up there and then jump across rooftops and hopefully lose our pursuers."

[City] The Hyena turns to look. "Alright, but you might have to pull me up, I'm not exactly in a form good for climibg..."

[Convoy] The dragon in the sky seems to take note of something. "Darkwyrm. Smokie. Be careful. You are being surrounded... roughly six. The around 10 are fanning out towards the edge of the city... The side our convoy is stationed at." he informs, the dragon circling in the air a while longer, trying to spot any vantage points he can use and their objective.

[City] From the roof, Darkwyrm and Smokie can see a pair of prowling wolves on the streets below. They seem momentarily confused by the unexpected direction their prey went, and one of them begins cautiously sniffing its way down the street towards the building. The wolf-morphs are large and powerful creatures, one of them going on four legs like oversized wolves, while the other looks like the more traditional wolf-beast.

[City] Darkwrym takes a moment for a breather and to survey the rooftops. "Alrighty, that should get them off our trail momentarily.. how good are you at jumping?", he asks SMokie.

[City] The hyena peers over the edge of the roof, and can't help but let her tail wag. "Mm, that big one looks hot..." She's snapped out of her revelie for a moment. Any prommies listening on the comm would be rolling their eyes at her baseness. "What, jumping? Never had to do too much..."

[City] The jump across the street in either direction would be flat-out impossible for a normal person. The alleyway behind the building is easier, a much narrower opening. Still, it may or may not be possible - it's short enough to look possible, but long enough to leave some doubt.

[Convoy] Jeanine radios back. "Want us to move in?" she asks. From his place in the sky Loki can easily find the building that was discussed, and sees nobody else moving on the streets below.

[City] "Hmm.. best get a running start then.", Dark says, glancing at the alleyway. "I'll go first, we gotta get a few buildings away at least before we go to ground level again, or the wolves are gonna be on us again instantly." He walks to the other side of the building and starts running in an all out sprint before bending his legs and leaping in an attempt to clear the alley.

[convoy]Enaari sighs softly and closes up the boxes, curling up onto the seats as she tries to get comfortable.

[Convoy] Redd lays out on the roof of the truck, the radio waking him from his almost-nap, "Moving in? Lemme get back up on my feet,"

[City] The hyena, encouraged by Dark's easy sail over the alley, swallows some before she backs up. She sprints forward on all fours, and leaps valiantly off the edge of the building. There's a moment of fear as she closes her eyes, a moment of relief as she sees her paws soaring over the edge... Then she barely catches herself, her hind legs falling short and making her scrabble and claw at the building to keep herself up. "SHITSHITSHIT! Dark!" She cries as she feels herself slipping and losing purchase.

[City] Dark lunges at Smokie, gasping, "No!" in surprise, attempting to grab her front paws and pull her to safety.

[City] Darkwyrm pulls Smokie up and out of the way just as a third wolf-morph enters the alley, attracted by the noise. It sniffs the air, ears perked, and then begins prowling around the ground below. One of the first two seems to realize their prey is making an escape, and the silence of the evening is suddenly split by a baying cry that sends shivers down the spine and makes fur stand on end. The cry is picked up and echoed twice more throughout that side of the little town, the wolves coordinating their search for intruders.

[City] Smokie pants as she's pulled up, and pushes a paw to her chest. "Oh god... Thanks, Dark.. Thought I was gonna end up havin'ta do a good impression of a crash-test dummy back there..."

[City] "I would have been more worried about those wolves getitng at you than the fall.", Dark mutters. "They're likely capable of a lot more damage than that two story drop." He shrugs then looks around again at other rooftops nearby. "We're not out of the theoretical woods yet, we still gotta make it to the mark."

[City] Smokie smiles deviously as she helps herself onto all fours. "Yeah, I could handle those pups. Good ol' Valley-style throwdown."

[City] There's only one other building that can be reached, the third along this side of the block. That one is a short hop, but there is nowhere to go from there but down. Back the way they came, Darkwyrm and Smokie can hear the sound of claws climbing up a metal fire escape.

[City] Dark cringes when he hears the metallic sounds. "Tiiime to go!", he urges, and rather hastily moving across the room and hopping across to the next roof.

[City] Smokie growls, following Dark and jumping across with little trouble this time. "Right, skidaddle!" She passes up Dark on her rush to whatever the fastest way down was.

[City] Alright, let's get back down, quick and as quietly as possible, then we'll make a sprint for cover once we're on the ground.", Dark says as he starts walking around the rooftop, looking for a way to climb down.

[City] There isn't a clear egress from the roof of the third building, but there is some kind of hard plastic decorative trim that hasn't completely crumbled, and some other attachment to the building that is only one story tall - it looks like a covered car stall. You drop down off the roof just before two of the wolf-morphs make it up the onto the roof you originally fled to, able to continue evading them.

[City] Dark chooses to land on the awning of the car cover with an 'Oof' and rolls off, landing on his feet. "C'mon!", he calls to Smokie and starts sprinting towards the destination and away from the wolves.

[City] The hyena pauses a moment, hesitating, looking back to see the ears of the wolves come up over the edge of the far stairs. She snarls, as she jumps down behind Dark, rolling off just beside him. "Alright, what now?" she asks, her adrenaline pumping.

[City] Loki, having warned the convoy makes his way towards Darkwyrm and the hyena. "Dark! Hyenagirl! You can probably make a break for the objective if you are keen to run." He warns, notifying them of the direction they should take, ready to provide additional information if needed, and is of course ready to dive in should anybody need help.

[City] Smokie realizes she's getting left behind, and with a blush, takes off to catch up. No action movie shit, she had to remember that rule. She jumps though, seeing Loki soar by and shout. "Alright!"

[City] Stealth abandoned, Darkwyrm and Smokie bolt for the relative saftey of the town's last bastion. Loki provides overwatch, and is able to see as the six wolves that had been hunting the two scouts catch on. There are a few short barks, and then one pauses to give another long howl while the other five break into runs, moving for the streets. Darkwyrm is well in the lead, and not in danger of being caught, while Smokie's lead - although considerable to begin with - is shrinking noticeably. She's three blocks from the Y, heart pounding, the closest wolf a mere twenty yards behind her and running on all four paws, when a shot rings out from the fitness center. The wolf springs to the side and rolls into an alleyway, momentum arrested by a wall, and one of the town's few remaining guardians lowers his rifle and nods at Darkwyrm from the doorway. "I can't tell if I got it. Shit. You want to come in?"

[Convoy] Out at the convoy, Jeanine has attached a laser pointer to her P90 to help her aim in the growing dark. She seems unphased by the rising howls of the wolves, although the truck drivers are clearly on edge. Jeanine works her com. "I've got movement in the outskirts here, but nothing I can fire at. How's it going?"

[City] "Yes! Please open the door! The hyena behind me is friendly!", Dark calls, still keeping up his sprint, although getitng short on breath.

[City] Can barely talk, panting so animalistically hard as she sprints up behind Dark, her rifle clattering on her back as she pours on the steam. "Yeah! Huff.. Friendly!"

[City] Loki seems satisfied at the backup, but continues to circle overhead until Dark and Smokie are safe inside. "Dark and Smokey are nearing the objective point. Six wolves still present. We may have to cut through those as well if we want inside... The rest should be making their way towards you at the moment. Going to linger here a little longer to see how they react. They may head your way regardless."

[City] The guard, some apparant mix of tiger and gazelle, lets Darkwyrm and Smokie inside. "So I hear you're with the convoy that was bringing supplies?" he asks, eager. Out in the streets, the wolves cautiously move up along side streets and alleyways, prowling back and forth, but they clearly know which streets to avoid and where the townsfolk in the Y can get a clear shot. They appear to be doing some extra scouting of their own, looking for other intruders, and then patiently waiting for the next move. One of them looks up into the sky and stares straight at Loki for a while, but then looks away.

[City] Smokie pants and huffs once she's inside, leaning against the wall of the bunker. "Oh man, thanks... God, haven't worked that hard since Redd threw me off a bridge into the river..."

[City] Relieved to see Dark and Smokey make it inside Loki then circles towards the Caravan, gliding his way there as he tries to get a newer sense of where the wolves are in relation to Jeanine and the others.

[City] Dark takes a few moments to catch his breath before cracking his back and looking at the guard. "Thank you, and yes, we're with the convoy. We're here to officially report that we've arrived, are making preparations to breach the city, and to assess your situation here, and lend aid if necessary."

[City] The tigazelle smiles happily, long cat tail swishing. "Great! They've got us holed up here... we can't leave the building without them getting to us," he explains, then peeks out the glass door down the street, "but we've got good enough fire lanes that they can't get to us. At least without getting hurt too badly to make them regret it. They're damned smart, and wicked strong. And... I tell ya, mister. Ma'am. It's been two days since I had a meal, and that meal was three kernals of corn and half a stale granola bar. I'm about ready to chew my own hand off if I don't get some real food." Out in the streets, the wolves continue to circle and prowl. They rarely stay in one place for long, constantly shifting, slowly circling the alleys and side streets on the outskirts of the town like sharks who smell blood in the water. On his way back, Loki can easily count eleven more wolves; another eerie howl cuts through the night as they wait.

[City] "Roger that.", Dark says. He activates his Comm unit and radios Loki. "Send word to the convoy that we've reached the location, and give them your threat assessment and the following information about the survivors." He spends a good minute or two relaying most of the details the guard had just given him, as well as some other things regarding location of the building, armaments of the guards and so on. As he awaits a repsonse, he turns back to the Tigazelle and says, I've got a few rations you may pass around to those you see fit, but I'd recommend using them for your most sick, or your most able to fight persons." At that, he reaches into his pocket and starts pulling out a number of granola bars.

"Now that they've found the survivors, I assume we move in?" A hint of impatience was audible in Redd's voice, if only barely. He adjusts his footing on the roof of the truck, before reaching for his rifle, barely sticking out of the bag.

[City] Loki growls a little into his com. "The wolves seem to be waiting. Not stupid thats for sure... They are always moving and waiting for your entry I think. They may have played this 'game' before." The dragon then circles a little lower and searches for a cluster of wolves if he can. The air shimmers around a wolf for a moment before it erupts into a bright light, a thin arc of elecricity leading from Loki to his target in a blinding explosion of radiance, lightning, and a sudden temperature spike.

[Convoy] "Then it looks like we're moving in..." Jeanine radios back. She climbs back up into the cab of her truck. "We'll come on in, and maybe if they give you a chance hit 'em from behind." Aidan takes up a spot in the rearmost truck in the convoy, and they begin heading down the street. "We're just going to plow on through if we can, boys and girls. Cover us if you can." The wolf Loki fried lies on the pavement, scorched and smoking, while the others nearby scatter for cover.

[City] The tigazelle catches the words from the radio, and looks even more exicted yet. He gratefully accepts the granola bars, then gets on his walkie talkie; soon another six townsfolk, all they can spare and have available, are with the group at the front door, ready if they are needed.

[City] continues to gluide above the convoy, the dragon searching for the various wolves, banking and turning, trying to provide as much cover as he can. When he becomes too low to maintain his gluide he lands upon the rooftops and begins following as best he can, leaping from roof to roof, using his wings to increase the distance he can jump. Should he get a clear shot, Loki will take it.

[City] The hyena frowns some at the six sickly-looking reinforcement. The cause of the joint operation lies standing in front of her. She shrugs, and unslings her rifle, cradling it in a bent foreleg. "Put me somewhere I could lay down some fire."

The sun is setting off to the west, in the direction the convoy had arrived from, as the trucks start up again and begin moving into the town of Round Mountain. Jeanine Perdeaux, RSX contractor, is riding shotgun in the lead truck, while Redd and Aidan are further back with other trucks in the convoy. Smokie and Darkwyrm are with the town's survivors in the YMCA, and the streets are filled with prowling wolf-morphs. Loki flies above, having already delivered thunder and lightning unto one of the ferals; the others keep a wary eye on the sky now as they dart from shadow to shadow, sticking to cover, waiting for their chance to pounce.

[City] Darkwyrm keeps his ears open, listening to the comm chatter and awaiting a chance to lend his aid to the convoy as it makes its way into the city. It's dangerous to committ any energy to fighting yet, until the vehicles can create a distraction.

[City] Smokie stares out the glass window, her hackles raised, her short and brushy tail flagging. She's on edge and tense, and can feel the bloodlust welling up in her stomach and making her trigger-digit twitchy. She takes a deep breath, and then whispers to one of the survivors, "Can you put me up on the roof of this place?"

[City] The silvery shadow that is Loki continues to glide up above the others, trying to keep pressure on the ferals, though he is slowly losing altitude as he tries to conserve energy. Still well above most houses but nowhere near his previous height he maintains a near constant vigil as he tries his best to track the prowling wolves, taking note of any clusters, bends, and other places that may be useful for ambushes or provide an impedement for the caravan, and should he see something that may be an impediment he will notify them.

[Convoy] Jumping off the truck he had positioned himself atop, Redd makes a short dash ahead and jumps into the back of the second truck, searching through several crates before he spots the prize he was searching for, a search lamp! He tests it, and frowns as the light produced is rather dim. It's batteries had gone bad in the years since P-day. "Oh, the hummer's battery. That'll be more than enough power." Redd opens the comm a moment, "Loki, you didn't grab the jumper cables from the hummer, did you?"

[City] Loki frowns a little and tries to think back. "Migh have... Might have not. I would think that the trucks likely have jumper cables if I did not remember taking them. I do know we were pressed for time."

The convoy continues down the street. The route is clear enough the trucks won't have any problem single file, but once the final truck is a few blocks into the city - and the lead truck still two block from it's turn - the wolves make their first move. Three of them dart out of the shadows towards the truck in the middle. Jeanine tries to line up a shot out of her window but curses as she can't get a good angle; one of the wolves jumps up onto the hood of the truck and snarls at the driver, the second climbs the canvas covering on the back, and the third sinks it's claws into the passenger side door and starts wrenching at it.

[City] Dark growls and turns to Smokie. "Hear that?", he asks, "The convoy's made its move, and so have the wolves. Ready for some action?" He also motions to the guards. "Got anyone among you well fed and eager enough to help us help you?"

[City] Smokie growls some as she hears what sounds like growling over the comm. "Yeah, I head that. I'm ready. " Cradling the rifle in the crook of her foreleg. She looks around, for a moment, brows furrowed. She hopes Redd and theo thers can handle the situation.

In the building, the survivors look at eachother, and worry. "We don't want to leave the people here undefended... but we can help, yea," one of them says. "The six of us are in the best shape, I guess the others can keep a lookout and let us know if they sneak attack."

[Convoy] Turning as he hears the driver in the truck behind him, Redd spots the wolves on the vehicle, drops the spotlight and impulsively, (and rather foolishly) jumps out of the back of on truck, and lands on the hood with one of the wolves. <Hero> Redd spends a Hero point!

[City] Darkwyrm whips out his dagger and twirls it in the air, then catches it in a backhand grasp. He raises his voice to address everyone arranged to depart and says, "Right then, let's head out!" before pushing open the doors and breaking into a sprint towards the location of the trucks.

[City] Loki begins a dive down as soon as the wolves make their move. Electricity would be a futile maneuver and could bring others within the car to harm. "Redd! Take care of the wolves upon the sides I have the-" he stops, the impulsive Redd already having made his move and he growls a protest and focuses his attention upon the wolf climbing the canvas, the dragons claws and talons going for throat, eye, and spine, aiming for a quick kill, grab, or simply knock the offender away. Regardless of the result he pulls out of the swoop shortly after.

[City] The hyena-girl, heart pounding in her chest, begins to lope off following dark, suprisingly quick even on three legs. She follows Dark, tense, ready for any ambush.

The truck lurches as Redd lands on the hood, and the bipedal wolf-morph is quick to turn and lunge at him, jaws snapping and claws scraping along the dragon's armor. The other wolf almost loses it's grip as Loki dives at it, but quickly finishes scrambling up to the roof of the truck; the door gives a loud, protesting screach as the hinge starts twisting. Four more wolves come out of a side street to attack the lead truck in a similar manner, one wolf going for the door while the others climb it, looking for more victims. Aidan lines up a shot and takes the wolf off of the roof of the third truck, and with a curse Jeanine opens her door, stands up on her seat with a leg braced on the open door, and fires a burst of rounds at the wolves. Up above, Loki can see the others getting ready to come at Aidan from behind, and far up the street, where Darkwyrm and Smokie are, the wolves that had been circling the Y give chase. The townsfolk manage to pick another one off, and the pack splits, three of the wolves chasing Darkwyrm and Smokie while the other two turn to rush at the defenders.

[City] Darkwyrm looks over his shoulder and sees the wolves giving chase. "Smokie! Got any grenades or mines to drop behind us?", he shouts. "We need something to slow them down so we can regroup!"

[City] The 'yena shakes her head, pouring on the steam to try and speed up. "Nah, got nothin'. But 'kin stay back, hold 'em off for awhile. Go on ahead!" She spins around, skidding as she does, and, holding her rifle in one paw as she braces with the other three, empties her magazine at the three wolves.

[Convoy]"Gun the engines and take a sharp turn on the next street. It should throw them off." Redd growls into his still open comm, before taking a lunging bite at the one next to him on the hood, and sinking his claws into the hood of the truck to secure himself. <*Official*> Redd proves that they possess a stat named superior balance with a value of 3. [Found in: Special]

[City] A growl of protest escapes the dragon as his attempt at the wolf fails his attempt at picking off a wolf. "Aidan! Behind you! Three of them!" he calls out, and growls as he then gives for the two wolves rushing the riflemen, a roar escaping the dragon as he heads straight for the ravenous canines. As he nears the end of the dive he snaps his wings together and spins about in the air, the dragon delivering a kick magnified by momentum, several hundred Kilos of nanosteel, and martial training, bone splintering underfoot as he usees one as a landing pad to launch himself at the other, the dragon once again whipping about and using a tail and claw in the spin to deal with the other. <Hero> Loki spends a Hero point!

One of the wolves chasing Smokie and Darkwyrm goes down as the hail of bullets tears it's chest open and a second one stumbles as a grazing shot throws it off balance; the third runs straight into Smokie, knocking her gun flying. His teeth lunge for her neck but she jerks to the side fast enough for it only graze her, the cut tingling with pain as he knocks her to the pavement. Redd's own lunge rewards the dragon with a mouth full of wolf meat, the wolf howling in agony and losing its footing as the truck surges. It flails, and then latches it's teeth on Redd's foot to keep from being thrown. Aidan turns and calmly cripples another wolf behind the convoy, then crouches down to brace herself, while the lead truck swings into the turn. Jeanine almost slips, yells at the driver to duck; he does so, and she sends a fullisade of rounds through his door into the wolf trying to tear through, and the last wolf on the second truck manages to finish ripping the passenger door out of it's way. Back at the Y the defenders rally as Loki drops from the sky like a golden comet, taking their attackers by surprise, and they start moving down the street to help.

[City] Smokie yelps, more from instinct than pain as she's shaved by the wolf's teeth. She tries to get her paws under the beast atop her, to claw at him with her raking claws. Her eyes flash in cold conceit as some kind of deeper, baser calculating self takes over. She doesn't need her gun or her crowbar to shred this asshole limb from limb, and her defiant growl says that aloud.

[City] "No, you fool!", Dark growls. He skids to a stop and reverses direction, running back to assist Smokie. He whips his dagger around again and throws it at the unbalanced wolf, aiming for its head. When he reaches Smokie, he throws the full weight of his body and momentum into the wolf assaulting her in an attempt to knock it off her.

[Convoy] Redd snarls at the wolf hanging off his leg, and takes a snap at its neck, before slamming his weight through the windshield to get inbetween the wolf at the door and the driver. In a page-pose to you, Loki is going to rally the men and use 'protien shied' (Or more accurately a nantie barrier) and then charge and fling a wolf carcass at the wolves. :x (Notes Loki is effected a little by the other nanites within him. :x He is beginning to have a bit of trouble restraining himself)

[City] Loki looses a triumphant roar as he downs the two wolves and rises to his full height and gestures down the street. "Onwards! Never give up and never surrender!" he screams, a miasma of nanites escaping the dragon soon after as the air around him begins to crackle with electricity and hum with electricity, pale blue arcs of power dancing through through mists. A gesture of his hand and some of the nanites swarm around the dragon and men, forming a protective armour. He is not still for long, the dragon hauling one of the downed wolves as he charges off towards the others, aiming to lead the men while boosting moral. When in sight of the caravan and wolves the dragon cries out once again and hurls the broken wolf remains towards the rabid pack.

The wolf pinning Smokie down bites her and rips into her with its claws even as Smokie's own claws begin ripping and shredding it; Darkwyrm's assualt knocks it off of Smokie, though, and it is much less effective at piercing Darkwyrm's armor as it bleeds to death. The last wolf on the street is pawing at the knife reflexively, but it stops moving as one of the town's defenders double taps it on the way past. Jeanine drops from the first truck and takes up a position to cover the corner while the lead convoy truck continues towards the Y, and the defenders quickly move to the sidewalk to get out of the way, picking off the other wolves with their guns; the driver of the second truck is freaking out, and misses his turn entirely as he watches Redd crash into the wolf in the cab. The third truck makes a rather impressive power slide, hitting the turn perfectly and spilling a few boxes of goods, and Aidan continues to methodically take down wolves, although with six left converging on her truck her chances do not look so good.

[City] Darkwyrm wastes no time in disengaging from the wolf corpse, but makes a note to crush its neck with his heel just to make sure it doesn't get up again. He offers a hand to Smokie to help her up before proceeding to the second wolf corpse to retrive his weapon.

[City] The hyena yips some as she's bit and clawed, before Dark tears the beast off of her. Her whole underside is dank with blood, her own and the wolf's, and she has to take a moment to look over herself, and assess the damage, before she feels she's able to help herself up, on her own if she can. Leraji gives Wolf Nads(Gear) to Smokie.

[City] Loki breaks into a sprint and with a snap of his wings leaps into the air in an attempt to close distance to the last truck where the rest of the wolves converge. "They must be ravenous! Most animals would have fled by now!" he calls out as he arcs through the air, pushing off the top of a building to gain in elevation and momentum, the dragon then beginning to descend upon the wolves in the back. He impacts with the ground in a literal explosion of electricity and incandescent light in an attempt to cause as much damage to the remainders as he can, or at least stun them momentarily. <Hero> Loki spends a Hero point! <Hero> Loki spends a Hero point!

[City] Smokie picks herself up and shakes herself off, quickly forcing herself to get used to the pain. She snarls a bit, and goes to take a step, before she feels something squish a little underpaw. She looked down, and... [You have acquired Wolf Nads! Doodoo, doodoo!]

[City] Dark flicks some blood off his weapon and looks over at Smokie. "You alright? Still able to fight?", he asks.

[Convoy]Redd turns towards the wolf at the door, and growls, before the wolf bursts into flames. Redd kicks the burning wolf from the vehicle, and looks towards the driver, "What?" <*Official*> Redd proves that they possess a stat named nova meteor with a value of 3. [Found in: Special]

The wolf in front of Redd does not just burst into flames; it goes from being a wolf trying to eat a diamond one moment, to being a vaugely ex-wolf-shaped ball of plasma in the next instant. The light and the heat is intense, if momentary, and the driver is absolutely stunned by the display. He stammers something indecipherable back at Redd. Loki's assault on the last half of the pack is another flashy assault; the wolf he landed next to drops to the ground, little more than a charred husk, and two more are momentarily stunned and blinded by the light. Aidan takes the opportunity to shoot another wolf, then agiley leaps from the truck to land next to Loki, her blade coming out. The remaining wolves circle the pair, then bolt down the street as Jeanine peppers them with fire from her assault rifle. The final truck makes its way up the street to the Y, and the night goes still.

[City] Shakes her head roughly, snorting out a little bit of blood from her nose. "Yeh.. Fine." She mumbles to Dark, as she turns and begins heading back to The Y, glaring thoughtfully and licking her lips at every corpse she passes.

Jeanine makes her way up the street, on the watch for a second wave or another assault. "Everyone alive?" she asks. Most of the town's survivor's have turned out to start offloading trucks, while the tigazelle comes over to check on Smokie as well. "Oh, wow... are... are you OK?"

"Alright here.", Dark calls to Jeanine. "Are all threats neutralized?", he asks.

<Mutation> Smokie almost tips forward in surprise, Black and tan furred skin glistening as their breasts shrink as two breasts vanish! <Mutation> Smokie's head becomes infected with Wolf Beast! The hyena shivers some, rolling her shoulders. "Yeah, I'm... I'm good... RRou.. Just a little sore." She turns and looks over her shoulder, glaring at a corpse. "I feel like... Grrr... Raping onna these fuggers!" Her fur starts to bristle, as changes slowly wash over her, her teeth sharpen and elongate, her muzzle grows and tapers, her ears come to a point, as the fur on her head begins to darken and thicken... Before she can help it, a deep growl is working its way up her throat...

The poor Tigazelle starts backing away, eyes wide and fur bristled. "H... hey now..." he starts, gun unconciously starting to rise. "Don't... don't let it get you, ma'am! Please, don't!" he nearly cries, distressed. Jeanine eyes Smokie and the guard a moment, then nods at Darkwyrm. "Yea. We're clear. Don't let this get out of hand," she offers, before heading down one of the alleyways.

Smokie looks up, confused, though she still has a rather aggressive sneer on her muzzle. "Don't let what get me?" She snaps, "Didn't you see me out there! Damn near clawed one open! ...Hell, I reckon I earned myself some dinner... Look at it, meat all over the street!"

Darkwyrm steps beside Smokie and puts a heavy arm on her shoulder. "Not in front'a the simple folk.", he warns her. "If y'want a meal, drag one of the ones away when they're not lookin'."

"You... your..." the townie stammers a bit. Then he slowly lowers his gun, and reaches up to paw at his own muzzle. "You, erm... have big teeth..." he finishes quietly, fur still bristled and eyes wide. He takes a few steps back away from the pair. Aidan nods at them as she wanders past, and helps unload the trucks, the supplies quickly going into the building.

Loki seems to wobble precariously in place, the dragon looking rather spent for now. He seems to be panting, if ever so slightly, perhaps trying to hide this fact. He growls a little as he begins making his way towards the building. "Need some rest... sorry. Would help unload... Running low on energy." he murmurs as he heads towards the building. You received a vote from Loki! Use +xp to see your current total

Smokie frowns a little, as Dark's heavy arm pushes some sense back into her head. She doesn't even know that her head's mutated yet, since, as a pre-acquired form, it feels as natural to her as her hyena form, or her Tousky form. "You're right... Maybe leave it as a warning t' the others." She begins to pad off to the corpse she filled with bullets, and begins to drag it out of view, in order to freely have her way with it.

Darkwyrm sighs and leaves Smokie to her thing before slipping his dagger back in the sheathe and padding off towards the trucks to start helping unload the supplies.

When the truck that missed the turn finally arrives, Redd has passed out in the passenger seat, his body too stiff to be removed from the vehicle easily but still relatively warm. A blinking warning on his comm reads "Low Nanite mass, refresh immediately!" Huh, must have burned through his internal reserves.

The tigazelle still seems rather... put off by Smokie, but at least she seems to not be entirely feral... he goes with Darkwyrm to help unload, while elsewhere in the city the sound of automatic weapons fire chatters a few times. Eventually Jeanine returns as well, and makes notes of the vehicles and their damage before moving in to join Darkwyrm and the truck drivers in the hero's welcome the town is giving them.

Late in the night, after the celebration, the nocturnity of the scene is undisturbed. The trucks, unloaded, sit dormant and cold... A wolf-looking thing stirs, a shadow in the dark as it prowls around the crates, a smell heavy of blood and something else less readily admitted. This wolf sniffs around the trucks for awhile, just a quiet shuffling, minute clicks of its claws on the asphalt... It works its way over to Redd's truck where it rears up, leaning over the window. Now its silhouette is a stark contrast to the starry night behind it...

Darkwyrm rests in the back of one of the adjacent trucks, semi-asleep, but still alert, keeping watch over their transportation back to Fairhaven. His ears perk at the conspicuous shuffling and he leans over the edge of the bed of the truck to investigate. Everyone else is inside the Y, only a few sentries awake, and even then they are distracted by the first good meal they've had in a long time, as well as the recent victory, and are barely paying attention to anything outside.

The wolfbeast makes some noise, a sound between a whine and a growl, as it begins to pull on the door, making it rattle. The thing seems to grow a little more aggravated as she sniffs the dormant drake, eventually beginning to claw at the door with its hindpaws as it tries to climb inside.

Darkwyrm hefts his body over the truck bed and lands right next to the wolf, weapon at ready. "Halt.", he says, lips upturned in a snarl. His arm is half extended, and the sharp end of his weapon is pointed at the trespasser.

The wolfbeast turns swiftly on Darkwyrm, a snarl in its throat and its teeth bared. It postures for dominance over Dark, and in the dark, it looks just like one of the wolves from earlier...

Darkwyrm takes a few steps forward, holding out his arm and putting some weight behind his advance, attempting to pin the wolf against the truck with his arm at its neck.

The bored guard inside the building sees the motion outside, and speaks into his walkie talkie. Then he opens the door and steps out, pulling his revolver from its holster. "Hey! Everything alright?" he asks, as he circles wide around the trucks to try and get a better view.

The Wolf doesn't let itself get pinned, no, not at all. It snaps at Dark's hand, before retreating further into the cab, over Redd's unconscious body. It makes a good target against his light-refracting body.

The guard doesn't hesitate; amped up on the heroics of others, the raccoon takes the shot. He has more enthusiasm than aim, though; what was supposed to be a bullet in the head simply clips off one of Smokie's ears instead. "D... get down!"

"Gah.", Dark growls, pulling his hand back with a few more holes in it than he started with. This doesn't settle well with him. He shouts towards the guard, "Stay out of this, I got it!", he yells to the guard, then scrambles into the cabin after the wolf, inadvertantly splattering blood on the immobile form of Redd as he does so.

The wolfbeast jumps as his ear is clipped, turning his head to the gunman through the shattered window. With a loud snarl that echoes off the stillness of the surrounding buildings, he begins to snap and swipe wildly at the approaching jackal, and even seems like he's going to make a lunge...

Darkwyrm holds up his arm and covers his face, hoping his heavily reinforced coat is enough to stop the scratches and slashes from the wolf. He waits for a flaw in the wolf's attacks then attempts to grab one of its arms and throw it backwards out of the truck.

Smokie makes a loud barking snap at Dark, followed by a sudden lunging bite, disregarding whatever Armor the jackal may have as the wolf lashes out from its corner.

When the wolf latches onto his arm with her teeth, he grunts in obvious pain and discomfort. Red blotches sppear through the fabrics of his coat. However, being quite used to feeling pain, he shrugs it off and attempts to conk Smokie in the head with the pommel of his blade.

Smokie takes the blow direct to her skull, and after blinking hard a few times, she lets go, standing and swaying as she tries to get her head back in order. It doesn't look like she's out for the count, though.

Darkwyrm coils his body like a serpent, leaping over Redd and colliding with Smokie in her moment of daze, trying to knock her out through the opposite door and tackle her to the ground.

Smokie, in her daze, is easily thrown over and out the other door of the cab, straight onto her back. With a wet smack, her already tender'd head roughly makes acquaintence with the asphalt, and her body goes limp. Not dead, but definitely out for a bit. K.O.! In the glimmer of light from the Y shininy on them, Dark can see the sheen of the intact leathers which the Wolf is wearing, very familiar leathers.

"Hrmph.", Dark grunts, identifying his scouting companion totally wolfed out. He puts his weapon away again and bind Smokie's arms and legs before hefting her into the back of one of the trucks. He then starts tending to his wounds by siphoning some blood from some of the fallen wolf corpses nearby before returing to sentry duty.

Smokie stays tied up and passed out in back of the truck till morning. Dark and Aidan seem like the only ones who made it through the mission in operational order... In the morning, Smokie will probably be back to her senses, and wondering why the hell she's tied up in the back of a truck and NOT getting raped, and yet still will not have, by that time, figured out she wolfed out. For a nanite adept, she's pretty oblivious.