~~ IC ~~

::after An returned for a few hours of sleep, the rest of you managed to nap as well.. save for Lan, who has been feverishly grinding and purifying chemicals in his "lab" between an hour of snatched sleep here and there... everyone is back at full wyrd, though An and Martel are still somewhat wounded... you assume that it's somewhere around noon, about twelve hours since the various assaults and fiascos last night, and twenty four hours until the schedule An found designates Maria is supposed to go to the Vats... one light note is that the sound of dripping has reduced to barely anything, indicating that perhaps the sun has come out for the first time in weeks up above::

::wakes up and stands, making his way towards the central meeting place::

((lee, didn't you plan to use tien to heal us?))

((yes))

::takes no notice of the lack of dripping. Grind. Measure. Hold up to the light in oiled paper to check for consistency. Set carefully aside. Grind some more. Careful. Don't let sweat drip into the mortar. Fake a sane grin for anyone passes by the door::

((who is down what?))

((4 for An, 3 for Martel))

((Burn 2 wyrd, one on each))

((so, you mean you're casting once on each?))

((yes))

((an))

rolled 2 20-sided dice: 16 16

((I swear, I curse dice))

((that fails. burd wyrd to re-roll))

((your DC was 12... it doesn't blow a wyrd that you failed.. you can try again at -1 DC))

((that's not how wyrd works anymore))

((Oh, ok.))

rolled 2 20-sided dice: 10 5

((yea!))

((k, that's 3.. was the first An or Martel?))

((an))

((right, An is now only down 1))

((woot!))

((next))

rolled 2 20-sided dice: 18 7

((k, that's 2 Health for Martel))

((woot!)

((who is also now only down 1))

::finishes the prep for the second batch, which he can start cooking down later.::

::wipes his brow, washes his hands, blinks against the stining in his eyes from chopping those aromatic herbs, and goes in search of Meredith.::

I hope that each of you are feeling better.

::Tien passes amongst his teammates, bestowing the Pancreator's light on their wounds::

I will hear your confessions later.

::martel felxes his shoulder, and raps his belly, the burning in each greatly reduced::

::An and Lan converge on the central meeting room, where Meredith has begun to meet with a growing number of the Changed::

::then he gives tien a questioning smirk::

::puts on his game face::

::he nods to both of them:: An. Meredith. I want to run this past the two of you before I ask for volunteers... ::comes closer::

::nods::

If things go well, sins will need to be forgiven this day.

::moves in to listen::

we do the duty of the Lord, and our sins will not be the ones in need of clensing.

::quirks an eyebrow, listening::

If I didn't explain this clearly enough before, much of the sickness we see in folks down here comes from the fact of course that their.... your, bodies are rejecting the modifications if and when higher and more efficient metabolic

We may break the commandment "Do not kill."

rates emerge as secondary mutations. What I need to do is get people on a battery of immunosuppressants and a couteragent I'm working on, so they can make a full recovery from the modifications without... dying.

::nods::

Counteragent?

The counteragent isn't strictly... science, however. The man who developed this process was an alchemist. ::paused. and more quietly:: As am I.

::smirks::

::then returns to his game face::

And you think alchemy can solve changes wrought by science?

The man who *made* these changes had alchemy in mind as much as science.

I hope that your faith is well placed, for a cure would be wonderful, but the only alchemists I've known to work miracles have been of the Eskatonics

I understand. ::grins weakly:: If I didn't mention, I'm a failed applicant to service in the chruch myself. I had. Contemplated, at some point, the possibility of *completing* rather than reversing the process. But I don't think... all things considered... that that's adviseable or possible. The alchemy and the immunosupressants together will give people the best chance to make a full recovery.

I don't think any of us would be thrilled with that idea... especially the ones cast as demons

Of... course not.

But I'm grateful that you've found a way to at least keep us safe from our own bodies

::raises his palms weakly:: I hope so. The process should be safe, but what I don't know at this point is how much of the alchemycal reagent I will need for each subject. And I don't want to run short in the middle of convalescence.

::nods and places his hand on Lan's shoulder:: Good work.

I plan to talk to a couple individuals I think are in the worst danger, this afternoon, and begin treatment immediately.

::a younger angelic that you recognize as one of the surfacer gatherers pushes through the crowd:: Meredith! Meredith! I found something you should see

May the Pancreator continue to guide your healing hands

::he waves a paper apparently ripped from a wall::

::removes his hand from Lan's shoulder and turns to the younger angelic::

I can't read it, but I heard a crier reading it... he said that it was a wanted dead or alive poster for crimes against the city.. they're all over now

::peers at the paper::

::the paper is, indeed, a poster with a big WANTED at the top, and an artist's rendition of an individual that could only be Tien... the rest of the poster gives his description and says that he's wanted in connection with attacking a local warehouse, and is believed to have been the perpetrator behind the horrible building fire last night in the central city::

::he is believed to be armed, dangerous, and consort with a criminal element::

I have no alternative then to turn myself in to the authorities.

::blinks:: Hm. Perhaps you... could help me in the lab and infirmary for the next few days?

Why do they think you burned down a building?

::infirmary. Lab. Ha!:: What kind of place was that that you burned down, An?

That was the place.

We have less then 24 hours before the lady Maria will be transported to the vans.

and by turning youself in, you'll be greatly reducing her chances for survival.

::nods:: We don't have time to turn anyone in. This is a war,.

I'd really appreciate it if you started using the brain the Lord gave you.

We must act, correct. But I could act as a diversion

::one of the more respected demonics, Daniel, enters from outside::

::looks to Daniel::

They're coming.. in strength this time.... ::stops for a second to catch his breath, as if he's been running:: The Jakovians are entering the sewers in a concentrated search pattern.. I think they're really after us now. Why the hell would they come down now of all times?

::Meredith hands him the wanted poster::

they are down here? then its time we go up there.

::pauses for a moment semingly shocked then wipes the look from his face:: Then when they find this place there must be nothing but water and the stone.

::nods:: indeed

Go up there? At noon on this bright shiny day? We'd last 5 minutes topside. We're going to have to either stand and fight or go deeper down

You gotta fight sometime kid. might as well do it with the sun on your face.

::looks to Martel:: What do we have that will burn? Hot and fast?

::rubs his forehead dismayed::

::nods, sadly, agreeing with Daniel's assessment::

Pancreator, get us off this wretched planet.

I have some spare fuel for my flamer, that plus gathered wood meybe? our Lord helps those who help themselves Lan

How about the sewage?

::the city's pretty well clean as a whistle, and wet as a .. well.. waterlogged sewer... after all this rain::

meybe. specially if it gives off enough methane...

::you'd be hard pressed to assemble much sewage::

Oy. Burning sewage. Lovely. Too bad we don't have a nice culture of engineered methane converters.

::looks to Tien:: Could we get to Rakel?

::asks what Rakel is, if his character shouldn't know::

I think so.

They're all over the tunnels I saw, you'd have a hard time getting through. A few might punch through, but by then they'd have reinforcements after the rest

We have two choices. Fight here in the tunnels or fight in the streets.

::stops and thinks:: The ascorbites... where are they?

You wanna go live with the ascorbites?

we know the tunnels better then they do.

Hard to say.. deeper and to the north

or somehow bring them here...

::hard to tell whether that idea intrigued or just frightened the physick::

Or, Tien, we can flee to where it's not worth following us

I suppose it would be fair to guess that the jungle would take care of us.

For the Lady Maria, we must fight this day.

For who?

a distraction is what we need. if we attacked that depot, it might draw enough of the troops off so we could escape. unfortunately it might not be there anymore...

We go deep in but can we push the ascorbites out. Go deep down, and somehow get them to flood out.

After 12 hours, it's probably at worst a trap, at best garrisoned so well that we couldn't take it without serious losses

Lady Maria is the sister of My Lord Ricardo.

And why is fighting for her more important that fighting for our lives?

::looks to An:: smoke them out?

I have sworn an oath.

is you oath worth the slaughter of innocents Student?

::nods to martel: Would it work?

Then fucking go fight for her... me, and I think most of the people here, are sick, utterly sick, of having to fear for our lives because of the shit you people have brought with you

I understand.

We took you guys in, and have nothing to show for it, and now you want us to throw away our lives for someone we've never met, when we can eke out an existence down here safely

::turns to Daniel:: LIVES? LIVES? You call this living? ::starts staring him down:: Eke out an existence?

Well. I swore an oath too. And I'm no good in a fight... ::looks at Daniel:: But I doubt you could call this much of an existence. You're all slowly dying thanks to the mutilations you've suffered.

::continues::

YOUR PEOPLE ARE STARVING TO DEATH... your genetics are fighting against you.

How long since you've seen the sun?

HOW LONG?

You want to live down here? As a piece of sewage?

Living day to day in fear that this day would come?

::stands up fully, towering over An, getting just as much in his face, wings flared::

Daniel, You are right. ::Places hand on his chest::

::holds his own head protectively::

How long? How long do you stand idle?

FUCK YOU AN! You come down here with a tale of how your life sucks so much.... you used to be one of us, but you at least can walk on the surface... I go up there I'll get hunted down unless I stick to the shadows...

I know a beautiful, successful banker who consults with nobles wouldn't understand what happens to the other half of us, and to those without your connections

But you come down here all the same, and you treat us like your own goddamn private army that you're going to unleash against our Jakovian oppressors...

But you know what? We're not an army.. we're just people that've been fucked.. most of us didn't have a life that was much better than this before... but we deal, and we survive, and some of us aren't as miserable as you...

Daniel. I do not ask you to laydown your life. You must survive. You have your own war to fight.

But I bet you'd be miserable anywhere, wouldn't you... and you're just going to use us to get something you think will make you happy, and then discard us as you flee... while we're still stuck here

I AM NOT IN A WAR! I'm a fucking factory worker who fell on hard times and got fucked.. I don't want to fight anyone, damnit, but I will to save my life and my friends

You have a choice, Daniel.

Enlighten me Tien, what's my fucking choice?

::Martel clears his throat as loudly and obviously as he can:: FOCUS PEOPLE! Survive first, debate the comparative value of life stypes later!

You can continue to live down here, hiding from the Sun and society. You will live until your mutations kill you.

we all KNOW if we want to live, it won't be here. We need to move, and we dont have time to waste.

Or you can come out into the light, and end this nightmare forever. I will not ask you to die for me or my cause. But you have your own cause to fught for.

I can choose to live for an unknown length of time in an existence that wasn't that bad before you showed up, or I can throw my life away today to possibly save An's girlfriend from being mutated like us. We're all trapped by what we've been made... you can at least walk free if you get off this planet

::growls to himself:: if i ever work with civilians again it'll be too soon.

You don't understand... ::turns away:: you don't want freedom. You don't want to walk amongst everyone else.

What I'm going to do is go try to delay the Jakovians while everyone here leaves.. because I don't think I can stop them.. but I'll slow them to help my friends survive... And if you're all smart you won't wander to the surface on a sunny day when Tien's wanted posters are out there

::Daniel heads out of the room, flanked by several other demonics::

I'm sorry An... it's hard for people to fight for their freedom when slavery means a long life

::turns quickly and follows after Daniel:: DANIEL!

::Mutters to himself:: another soul that I have failed to help. ::Turns away from the others and sit in a corner::

::hoists the flamer and follows them:: extra fuel is with my stuff. see you soon, i hope.

::turns:: What!?

::stops:: Where are you going?

::looks surprised:: to help them. they are gonna need it, and they are right, you guys need a distraction. I found the location of a few places topside. the locations are with my stuff.

::nods at Martel's assessment:: I'll do what I can to help my friends, but I'm going to try to survive it... I don't see a reason to throw my life away to possibly keep one person from being mutated.. I'm sorry

Its not about that daniel

yeap, sounds about right to me. and with one more person along, you stand a slightly better chance of making it.

I'm trying to get you all off this planet. To a place where you can walk, free. Maria, is my friend... but I want to stop this project. So no more people suffer.

I agree with An, but if you insist on going, I gotta help you through it.

And I've only got to fight my way through an army to get there? Sorry, I'd choose a long life down here rather than a small chance at freedom through a giant chance of immediate death

Long life? How long? You feel that nagging deep in your lungs? Is that your long life?

I've lived like this for several years, and only have a slight case of the cough... how long have you lived with your mutation? At least a decade isn't it? Aleph's death was tragic, but it was only one death

the sawbones say there will be more, you know that. but still, hey, your choice kid. live fast, die young an all that.

::shrugs again:: and as far as I know there's no cure even if we do escape.

well, again, sawbones says he found one, so who knows?

Could be. Could be that he's gone stir crazy down here. I'm still not willing to bet my life on it

Well I tell you this. I'm staying on this planet until everyone is off or settled on what they want to do. No one gets left behind. No one.

fair rnough, but first i want you to see something. ::strips his shirt:: see this? ::points at his chest:: used to be covered in bruises mere days ago. he might be completely bugnuts, but he is a good doctor.

So, we wanna get through this? Make the Jackovians know were not worth fighting?

Fine, maybe, I can't be sure.. but now we don't have time... maybe we can hide from this assault, and in a week he'll be able to prove to us that he's a good doctor... Up until you all burned down a building and found their warehouse, we weren't

::remains silent through it all::

So, we needs to gather all we can that burns. ::looks around:: Hear me out and see how this sounds. We move down deep into the sewers to entrances that lead to the ascorbites. Creating large enough fire and smoke we could use everyones wings to fan smoke and flood their inner sanctum, we'll leave at lease one exit into the upper sewer free of fire and smoke. give them an exit, and in the panic drive them up and out. Its risky but it might work.

If you think it will work, try it... I'm going to hold them off so you have time to try

Let me, i can breath the smoke.

But for the Pancreator's sake.. stop talking and help them flee

::nods turns and returns to the group::

::evil grin:: plus I'm REALLY good at scaring people.

::An walks up on his lookout telling Meredith basically what Daniel and the scout said, while others are packing::

::explains his plan::

It might work.. it's at least as good a plan as any if they follow us that deep

::hands An a scrap of paper::

::takes it and reads::

::Martel goes to fetch one of his reload canisters, figuring he may well need one::

::to lookout:: Thankyou.l

::the lookout nods and goes to help pick stuff up and flee::

::then, noticing how little fuel there is, sighs and leaves it all to the fire builders::

<q> Well. ::rubs his hands together:: I'll help with the fleeing too, I reckon.

:: Directs people to gather fire materials.::

Wait. Wait! Some of the herbals I have will smoke a lot better than others.... if... If we can get them lit... ::hustles down to where those're kept, and starts hand-picking the better half of the stuff::

::with a nod from Meredith, those that aren't weighed down with too much personal possessions or community stuff begin grabbing bedding and anything else that they can find that's dry::

::comes back up to where they're gathering burnables with as much as he thinks has any chance of burning, that will smoke well:: This stuff should do nicely. Are we planning on... ::looks around:: Planning on keeping a rear guard here to fight? ::talking to anyone nearby. Starts casting about for things that will actually make poisonous fumes::

That's what Daniel's team is doing

And I will assist them. Here are all of my other clothing. They should burn.

::nods weakly, frowning:; To cover the retreat? I wonder if, perhaps we could find the right materials to burn really ... toxic.

::Hands over the expensive robes that Maria had bought for him::

::sets the sacks of smokable herbs down::

::has his alchemical matierials in another pack nearby::

::Heads for the rear guard::

::sits with daniel, puffing on his everpresent cigar::

::the rear guard team is spread out over the three tunnels that seem most likely for a Jakovian assault, about 100 yards from the main "village"::

::I pick the place i deem most likely to be overrun fastest::

::in all, each tunnel has about a dozen demonics who are willing to test their enhanced strength::

::gathers everything he can that burns::

::Prep Armor of the Pancreator. Plan to cast on Daniel.::

::all the while making sure to spread the plan to the angelics and demonics, making sure they understand::

::as the meagre possessions of the camp are packed up onto backs, as well as any flammables, the rest of the Changed, Lan, and An assemble to the eastern tunnels and prepare to head out::

::Begins booming out a war chant, hoping the others will pick up the tune::

::A few operatives are unaccounted for, probably gone to ground on the surface, amongst them Ric and Saburo::

Oh, pank. ::mutters, shouldering his pack::

Martel.. I know you mean well... but we're black skinned individuals hiding in the dark for a melee ambush.. could you please stop giving away our position to the people with guns?

::grin:: sorry, been a while since my last good mass brawl. Helped out a platoon of chainers gainst some barbarians. never forget the bloodrush boy, it means yer still alive.

Yeah.. unless it's rushing out of a bullet hole

Hah! thats the spirit boy! Smilin in the face o potential an possible death and/or injury... you'd make a drill sargent proud.

::looks to Meredith:: Lead the way.

::the whole proceedure of packing up takes two hours, some of the most frantic of your lives... the refugees slog off into the depths while we turn our focus onto the brave, possibly doomed, rear guard::

((this will be all narrated, by the way, since rolling would take too long, so just give me a rough idea of what you want to do, and I'll fill in the rest))

::not too long after a scout runs up one of the tunnels, and spreads, quietly, the word that the parties are right behind him, maybe five minutes.. and very strong::

::helps people flee, flee, flee::

((Cast on Daniel, then cast on myself, then join the battle fighting with MA))

((okay, you're down to one wyrd left, btw))

::the bulk of the rear guard forms an ambush in the tunnel the scout came from, with a token force in the other two, and sets in to wait::

::martel spends the battle adding to the flames and smoke, trying to hide in the smoke, and generally doing his best to stay alive and confuse things much as possible. threatens the bad guys with the flames of god o course::

::you aren't with the smoke, the smoke is below you, and the fires have not been started yet, the only smoke here is from your gun::

::Fair enough::

::and then they come... there are a half dozen black-clothed agents, and two Kossacks leading the way... they have apparently converged here from other tunnels.. no telling how many are behind them...

with a mighty roar, demonics begin flinging themselves from the shadows before the Jakovian lights wipe them out...

a tide of some thirty Changed bears down on the currently small group of Jakovians...

Radios blare the location, though, from too many hands to silence, before the squad is brought down...

The Changed are bloodied, wounded, tired from the hard fight against the trained soldiers that lie bleeding in the sewer's flow...

just in time to hear the pounding footsteps of a much larger force bearing down on you all::

((Daniel))

((what about him?))

rolled 2 20-sided dice: 14 18

((you're using your last wyrd to heal him a little?))

((did not Activate))

((Or did you auto activate them))

((remember how I said no need to roll, I'll narrate? well, that))

((OK))

::Tien expends the last of his spiritual energy to boost the flagging reserves of Daniel::

((anyone changing tactics?))

::lights cigar::

((Nope))

::and then, pandaemonium::

((When'd we get off Severus? XD ))

::A series of images, strobe-like, hard to take in all at once, seemingly in slow motion though they happen in moments::

::A Demonic reaches to pick up a downed Jakovian's slug gun, only to have his chest ripped open by a surge of plasma from a Kossack's rifle::

::Daniel lays about him with a sword he picked up from a downed Kossack, blood flying everywhere, only the flicker of Tien's miraculous armor saving him from being cut to ribbons::

::three Demonics bear a Kossack to the ground and hold him beneath the water only to howl in pain as a Jakovian shoots them each in the back::

::A demonic soars across the tunnel only to fall towards the water with holes ripped in his wings, bearing a Jakovian beneath him::

::Tien fights through stray blows that ring off his theurgic protection, kicking a midsection there, punching a face here, softening up the foes but finding himself becoming surrounded::

::Martel sends gouts of flaming death at the foes, each shot a flying ball of light that illuminates the tunnel, before he is out of shots and has to pick up a dropped machinegun::

::The contingent of invaders dwindles slowly...

but the guardians dwindle faster::

::finally, Daniel's voice booms "RETREAT" as all break from combat and flee into the deep tunnels... but many are wounded and will be quickly overtaken by their still healthy foes::

((reactions? actions?))

::trembles, imagining what might be going on behind::

::Fighting retreat. Covering those who are injured.::

::martel tries to keep the foul villains off the slower of the wounded, but then attempts to lead the invaders more fully into the path of the hopefully coming ascorbites::

::making as much noise as possible, and wasting bullets to make himself seem more threatening than he probably is::

::bullets continue to fly, and Martel and Tien are only a slight deterrant... more and more wounded are picked off for every dozen yards::

::soon there will only be the mobile and the dead::

((::holds his breath! :: ))

::though it has only been minutes, the nightmare battle seems to go on forever, as more and more of the mutants that have been your providers and protectors for the past few weeks are ground, bloody, into the wrack of the sewer::

::is, for his own part, fleeeeeing::

::martel, knowing when a battle has turned, begins looking for a place to duck into, hoping to find a place where he can avoid both the invaders, and incoming ascorbites::

::Martel also mutters a prayer for the remaining defenders, knowing their death is almost surely at hand::

:Only a fool fights in a burning house. Tien heads deeper into the tunnels.::

::and with one last, ringing gunshot, the final wounded demonic falls into the brine of the sewer, washing blood and water across Tien, as the priest and the dozen or so remaining demonics scatter into the depths...

was their delaying tactic long enough, or have two dozen lives been lost for nothing::

::in the depths...

it seems like hours that Lan and An have been slogging after the fleeing Changed...

twists and turns lead into the most ancient bowls of the city, and the rot of the season of water is overpowering...

::huff huff:: I hope ... all has gone well above. I hope. Pancreator. I hope the wounded catch up with us. Phew.

the air pressure makes your ears pop repeatedly as you go into ruins that no human has likely seen since the second republic::

::scouts spread out trying to find where the Ascorbite lair is, and where to set up the inferno to drive them up the tunnel you've just moved down, while the rest of the Changed slow their pace as their ruined lungs have trouble with the rotten, wet air::

::help any along who need it::

::keeps an eye on 'em as well::

::wet coughs and the splash of feet are the only sounds for some time, and then the scouts return with directions to a likely spot::

::panting:: An. Have you ever. Seen an Ascorbite? In person, I mean? ::slogs along::

... no. I have not. And under any other circumstance, I wouldn't want to.

::the scouts instruct everyone to be as quiet as possible as they lead you into what must have been an immense sub basement::

I've. Seen pictures. ::purses his lips:: They're sentient. How bad can they be? ::shuts up::

((::sigh, cause yeah, sentients are NEVER bad::-))

((Sentients aren't bad. Just confused. ))

::skirting the edges of the structure, you can see movement in the distance, glistening in the faint light like chitenous, moving ant shells... there must be hundreds, all living in proximity that knows nothing of the concept of personal space... somehow, guided by adrenaline or miracle, the few dozen of you manage to skirt the writhing mass that is the ascorbite village without alerting them::

::the scouts lead you to a small offshoot tunnel that is collapsed at the far end but with ducts that seem to be pulling enough air from the rest of the complex for you to survive fanning the flames::

::begins very quietly directing the changed where to set up the burnables::

::at An and Meredith's instruction, the bundles are dropped at the mouth of the tunnel, and Lan is free to put his plants on top::

::gets ready to light the fire::

<w> we'll have to light it and begin as soon as the Ka oil Martel left us is poured, since they'll be able to smell it from a long way

::puts his plants on::

Pour the oil.

::two canisters of napalm ooze out onto the heap and the smell is, indeed, intense... someone lights a spark as everyone moves into position where they can move their wings::

::is terrified. Contemplates models of cybernetic adrenal glands he's read about::

::bows his head:: Long live the fighters of light. May the Pancreator clear the path before you. ::gives the signal::

::the tiny ember settles like a fallen angel on the pile, and glows for a seemingly endless moment on the black ichor... serene.. a beacon in darkness...

and then the moment is over, and the flame ignites into a crescendo of light, a holocaust of embers, racing like snakes to take in the whole pile::

::far above, Martel wispers in the cold, begging his lord to guide the flames, and to cleanse the sins of the night::

::the sound, like a chorus of demons, is loud enough to set the hive to frenzy, and then the plants catch and thick ropes of greasy smoke pour forth into the growing torrent of wingbeats::

::trembles like rabbit underground in the animated Watership Down::

::blasted by the breeze of angels, the smoke forms a bank of sable fog that rolls over the advancing ascorbites like the tide, drowning them, and they are swept by it like driftwood away towards the exit::

::over the roaring of the flames is an unearthly, inhuman chittering, and then the chitter becomes a keen as the ascorbite breeders are consumed by smoke, and the hive's frenzy rages to epic proportions::

::trailing the bank of smoke, green chiten flies in horrible wrath away from the doom that has visited their lives::

::above, martel feels like he has never been this tired::

::running, he's been running for hours, and only sometimes sees anyone else::

::voids his stomach::

::over the pounding in his blood he can barely hear the wet clatter of insectoid feet, staccato on the walls of the labyrinth... just as the wave of green comes into his limited vision, he finds a nook to hide in... turning, he sees that a Kossack behind him was not so fast... like armageddon itself the alien creatures flow over him, biting and clawing, seeking a victim for the suffocation of their queen and drones... though he holds his own for moments, even his immense strength is not enough to save him from the horde, and you learn that even Kossacks can screem as his armor is rent apart and his skin devourered to reach beneath::

::Tien has gotten hopelessly lost, which is ironic considering that were the sewers an open field his rite would tell him absolutely where he was...

((I know exactly where I am. But I don't know how I got there.))

as he turns to try another side-tunnel off from the dead-end, he sees the coven of Jakovians turn the corner and flare their fuzion lanterns at him, grinning evilly::

::so caught up are they in crossing the intersection towards Tien, that they don't notice the wave until it is too late and Tien watches as two dozen mantis men reduce six agents to a pile of bones in moments::

::Prays for thier souls.::

::for hours the sounds of the flood of ascorbites echoes through the labyrinth::

::eventually all the lost Changed gravitate back to a central location... the fleeing party is tired, waterlogged, and many are hacking up blood as the smoke aggravated their lungs... the rear guard is reduced to only a half dozen, Daniel scratched and torn but alive thanks to Tien's miracle::

::the Ascorbites have not been seen in a while, and they hopefully ended their fury and sank to another level of the Labyrinth::

I am glad to see the faces of those who have survived.

::coughs::

I am troubled by those that I do not see. Let us pray.

::moves over to a close wall and sinks down, his face in his hands::

Pray for fresh air. ::muttered::

Oh, Pancreator. We thank you for this day, for saving our lives during these times of war.

We ask that you guide those who have fallen to their just place at your side,

::out of a side tunnel, Martel stalks in, coveren in the gore of the dead, and with even a few ascorbite bits clinging to his legs. One machine gun in each hand, a cigar in his mouth, and a slight smile on his face::

And we pray that we all may walk freely once more in the light of thy Holy Orb and breath free fresh air.

Hey, Lord, thanks for the help. Amen.

Amen.

In the name of the Prophet, we pray. Amen.

::weeps::

LAN? Where do we begin? Is there cloth for bandages?

::martel lets one of the guns, obviously spent of ammo, tumble to the ground, and goes to comfort An as best he can::

::also wiping a tear from her eye:: They're not going to stop coming now, Daniel... we've done what we never did, and struck a major blow... While they're routed, we need to move, and destroy what we can so they can't do to others what they did to us...

::looks up:: they weren't gonna stop before Meredith. Now they'll just be cautious.

::puffs cheeks:: Well. I think I brought some...

No, now they'll send in even worse

::stands:: she's right. we made an opening, and it cost us. we better make it worth the price.

We need to find the Vats, and destroy them. We might not survive.. but we'll no longer survive hiding down here for any length of time at all

::stands::

I think it is about time we got off this rock. we also need to secure transportation outta here.

I will start gathering weapons from the ranks of the fallen.

::groaned, and checked around to see if anyone present needed attention. Gave what help he could::

Meredith is right!

I think I saw some plasma rifles used. Maybe they have unused charges.

There's no chance of us getting everyone left through the startport. <q> Is there? The vats. ::nods weakly:: The vats.

With help we can get everyone off this planet, who wants to leave.

Not much of one. Maybe we can flee to the jungle. Maybe we can find a Jakovian important enough to take hostage. But we can't stay here.

::Gathering firearms, swords, armor, etc., anything that can be salvaged from the dead.::

An, you know if any of the ships in port can be hijacked? meybe have a friend with the charioteers? could the eskatonics help?

::Tien gathers the trophies of the fallen, Martel and An discuss strategy with the Changed not too weary to participate, and Lan checks through his supply of drugs, hoping he can use them to brew a miracle... one thing is certain... the end, for good or ill, is soon::

~~ OOC ~~