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+--- Thread: Operation: Sleeping Wyvern (/showthread.php?tid=164462)
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RE: Operation: Sleeping Wyvern - Backo - 03-29-2019
Her calm and calculated exploration of the air filtration room was cut short by the rolling dim red lights that had just activated. Security had most likely found the dead body on the lower level and now the whole ship was on high alert and looking for the intruders.
From a side pocket of her uniform, Valdez produced a small and sleek inhaler with orange vials on it's sides. Eliza always disliked the breather masks that other Maltese often wore when operating away from the welcoming touch of Malta. While they provided the comfort of constant cardamine supply, the attention they drew as one moved away from Maltese space was something she wanted to live without. What she and other Maltese saw as something as natural and essential like air was nothing but a drug used by desperate junkies for most of Sirius. And as such it was best to trade comfort for the ability to blend in better with the locals she often had to share stations with.
Putting the inhaler on her lips and squeezing the release button sent the fine and processed powder straight into her respiratory system. Even if she considered her need for cardamine as something natural, she still did not like the thought that she often relied on the substance to clear her thoughts and focus better in intense situations. It made her feel less competent and weak than the image she liked to portray. Still, it was better to sacrifice a bit of one's ego than to end up dead because of overconfidence. From her lungs, the cardamine was quickly absorbed into her bloodstream and the sudden rush of energy and alertness much similar to adrenaline kicked in. After pocketing the inhaler Eliza's focus quickly jerked back on the red dot sight of her now raised in the ready position rifle. She flicked the safety into full auto, the infiltration was now officially over.
In her new much more heightened condition it wasn't long before she found the exit. Running the stolen key card across the console of the door she had just found luckily produced a favorable result - security had not managed to invalidate the unfortunate dead technician's credentials just yet. Seeing the door beginning to open, Eliza quickly darted to the side into cover, weapon centered at chest height on the opening ahead. What was revealed behind the door was a corridor running perpendicular to it with long hallways in each direction. In the state of rush she no longer hesitated on direction. Left was what she subconsciously felt as the correct direction.
As soon as her azure eyes adjusted to the brighter hallway ahead, Eliza made her move. She peaked each side cautiously to ensure there's nobody on either side and then without a shadow of doubt turned left as she had decided a moment ago. The corridor ahead had no other doors or hatches and at a distance no more than 10 or 15 meters made a sharp turn to the right. Before reaching the corner she slowed her approach and carefully cut the corner with her sights kept just on the edge of the corner. What was revealed ahead was another straight corridor, a corridor she now had to traverse, all while being on watch for anyone that might try to make a jump on her from behind and any of the doors that her eyes could register ahead.
The rules of engagement obviously dictated shoot first and ask questions later in this situation for both sides and getting killed was something Eliza very much wanted to avoid. She moved steadily, keeping her sights on the end of the newly entered corridor where it seemingly made yet another turn right. Her movement was done all while sticking close to the wall on her left. As she got closer and closer to the corner ahead she passed more and more doors. Each of those doors could open behind her at any moment, which kept her even more on edge and anxious to finally reach the corner. And she was right to feel so as a door perhaps 10 or so meters behind her opened up, producing a cliche hiss that broke the now rhythmic sound of flight boots making contact with the metallic floor.
Instinctively Eliza made a dead stop followed by a sharp 180 turn to her right, locking with a slight rubber band motion to the now open door on her left. Her angle on the door frame was not too favorable as being on the opposite side of the hallway left her quite exposed. The Maltese made a cautious step away from the wall with her left foot, slowly and quietly. Her eyes did not move from the red dot sight that was pointed at the door frame. Who or how many were inside? Were they armed? Did they know Eliza was in the corridor? All questions she could not know the answer of. The girl made another step to the side, this time with her other foot. The two sides of the door frame moved closer and closer to each other as her angle on the entrance became sharper and sharper. Whoever was inside had no way to see her, not without poking his head out into the kill zone.
What Valdez did not take into account was the security camera keeping track of the corridor she was currently in. A Blood Dragon guardsman jumped out out of the doorway, with his Kishiro KY-14R blaster extended into rifle mode for the extra accuracy and stopping power. Thanks to the information provided to him by the security camera, he knew very well exactly where Valdez stood. The Maltese infiltrator had noticed him in time and a burst of 6x28mm were sent into his chest before he could align his sights on center mass, resulting in his last ever shots missing Eliza by a few feet.
Without even waiting to ensure he was downed for good, Eliza's aim shifted back to the overlapping door frames where she sent another burst resulting in the sharp sound of bullets ricocheting off the metal frame. If anyone else was about to try and make his move from that doorway, hopefully this would have served as a warning to make them think twice. Her gut was telling her to move out of there and fast, but she knew she shouldn't turn her attention from the door. The guard laying in his puddle of blood next to it was hardly the only armed Kusarian on this ship looking for her and there was no telling if there were more people in the room he was in.
The corner behind her was another 5 or 6 meters away and until she had reached it, Eliza had to make the choice of which direction to defend against. Almost slamming into the wall to her left to make it as hard as possible to get shot from the doorway, she began moving step by step backwards towards the corner. Once close enough to it to feel confident about making another sharp turn and rushing into the next unknown, she quickly turned rightwards on her toes and stormed the next section of the corridor. Thankfully there weren't any more guards there waiting to shoot her the same way she waited for the unfortunate guardsman she left in the corridor behind. Valdez had a lucky streak so far and that did not make her feel any better, because she knew very well that lady luck was not forever and it was just a matter of time until fate hands her a bad pair of dice.
The new corridor looked very much like the first corridor she traversed when she exited air filtration, just mirrored and instead of having a small door hatch at it's midway, there was a rather large and seemingly reinforced double door entrance. Obviously something important lied beyond. And her intuition was telling her it was most likely the central command of the battleship that she was so desperately looking for since she got out of that crate. The only question was how to gain entry considering the whole ship was in alert. On her she only had the maintenance technician's card and it was very unlikely such was granted clearance level to the most important facility of the warship, especially during an intruder alert.
From a side pocket of her uniform, Valdez produced a small and sleek inhaler with orange vials on it's sides. Eliza always disliked the breather masks that other Maltese often wore when operating away from the welcoming touch of Malta. While they provided the comfort of constant cardamine supply, the attention they drew as one moved away from Maltese space was something she wanted to live without. What she and other Maltese saw as something as natural and essential like air was nothing but a drug used by desperate junkies for most of Sirius. And as such it was best to trade comfort for the ability to blend in better with the locals she often had to share stations with.
Putting the inhaler on her lips and squeezing the release button sent the fine and processed powder straight into her respiratory system. Even if she considered her need for cardamine as something natural, she still did not like the thought that she often relied on the substance to clear her thoughts and focus better in intense situations. It made her feel less competent and weak than the image she liked to portray. Still, it was better to sacrifice a bit of one's ego than to end up dead because of overconfidence. From her lungs, the cardamine was quickly absorbed into her bloodstream and the sudden rush of energy and alertness much similar to adrenaline kicked in. After pocketing the inhaler Eliza's focus quickly jerked back on the red dot sight of her now raised in the ready position rifle. She flicked the safety into full auto, the infiltration was now officially over.
In her new much more heightened condition it wasn't long before she found the exit. Running the stolen key card across the console of the door she had just found luckily produced a favorable result - security had not managed to invalidate the unfortunate dead technician's credentials just yet. Seeing the door beginning to open, Eliza quickly darted to the side into cover, weapon centered at chest height on the opening ahead. What was revealed behind the door was a corridor running perpendicular to it with long hallways in each direction. In the state of rush she no longer hesitated on direction. Left was what she subconsciously felt as the correct direction.
As soon as her azure eyes adjusted to the brighter hallway ahead, Eliza made her move. She peaked each side cautiously to ensure there's nobody on either side and then without a shadow of doubt turned left as she had decided a moment ago. The corridor ahead had no other doors or hatches and at a distance no more than 10 or 15 meters made a sharp turn to the right. Before reaching the corner she slowed her approach and carefully cut the corner with her sights kept just on the edge of the corner. What was revealed ahead was another straight corridor, a corridor she now had to traverse, all while being on watch for anyone that might try to make a jump on her from behind and any of the doors that her eyes could register ahead.
The rules of engagement obviously dictated shoot first and ask questions later in this situation for both sides and getting killed was something Eliza very much wanted to avoid. She moved steadily, keeping her sights on the end of the newly entered corridor where it seemingly made yet another turn right. Her movement was done all while sticking close to the wall on her left. As she got closer and closer to the corner ahead she passed more and more doors. Each of those doors could open behind her at any moment, which kept her even more on edge and anxious to finally reach the corner. And she was right to feel so as a door perhaps 10 or so meters behind her opened up, producing a cliche hiss that broke the now rhythmic sound of flight boots making contact with the metallic floor.
Instinctively Eliza made a dead stop followed by a sharp 180 turn to her right, locking with a slight rubber band motion to the now open door on her left. Her angle on the door frame was not too favorable as being on the opposite side of the hallway left her quite exposed. The Maltese made a cautious step away from the wall with her left foot, slowly and quietly. Her eyes did not move from the red dot sight that was pointed at the door frame. Who or how many were inside? Were they armed? Did they know Eliza was in the corridor? All questions she could not know the answer of. The girl made another step to the side, this time with her other foot. The two sides of the door frame moved closer and closer to each other as her angle on the entrance became sharper and sharper. Whoever was inside had no way to see her, not without poking his head out into the kill zone.
What Valdez did not take into account was the security camera keeping track of the corridor she was currently in. A Blood Dragon guardsman jumped out out of the doorway, with his Kishiro KY-14R blaster extended into rifle mode for the extra accuracy and stopping power. Thanks to the information provided to him by the security camera, he knew very well exactly where Valdez stood. The Maltese infiltrator had noticed him in time and a burst of 6x28mm were sent into his chest before he could align his sights on center mass, resulting in his last ever shots missing Eliza by a few feet.
Without even waiting to ensure he was downed for good, Eliza's aim shifted back to the overlapping door frames where she sent another burst resulting in the sharp sound of bullets ricocheting off the metal frame. If anyone else was about to try and make his move from that doorway, hopefully this would have served as a warning to make them think twice. Her gut was telling her to move out of there and fast, but she knew she shouldn't turn her attention from the door. The guard laying in his puddle of blood next to it was hardly the only armed Kusarian on this ship looking for her and there was no telling if there were more people in the room he was in.
The corner behind her was another 5 or 6 meters away and until she had reached it, Eliza had to make the choice of which direction to defend against. Almost slamming into the wall to her left to make it as hard as possible to get shot from the doorway, she began moving step by step backwards towards the corner. Once close enough to it to feel confident about making another sharp turn and rushing into the next unknown, she quickly turned rightwards on her toes and stormed the next section of the corridor. Thankfully there weren't any more guards there waiting to shoot her the same way she waited for the unfortunate guardsman she left in the corridor behind. Valdez had a lucky streak so far and that did not make her feel any better, because she knew very well that lady luck was not forever and it was just a matter of time until fate hands her a bad pair of dice.
The new corridor looked very much like the first corridor she traversed when she exited air filtration, just mirrored and instead of having a small door hatch at it's midway, there was a rather large and seemingly reinforced double door entrance. Obviously something important lied beyond. And her intuition was telling her it was most likely the central command of the battleship that she was so desperately looking for since she got out of that crate. The only question was how to gain entry considering the whole ship was in alert. On her she only had the maintenance technician's card and it was very unlikely such was granted clearance level to the most important facility of the warship, especially during an intruder alert.
RE: Operation: Sleeping Wyvern - Backo - 04-01-2019
A fine engraving of a dragon biting his own tail and thus forming a circle sat on the middle of the reinforced doors, only to truly form when they were closed such as they were now. Even if Kusari aesthetics were never Eliza's thing, she still appreciated the fine work put in engraving the clan symbol upon the doors. Her admiration of the door was cut short by a coarse voice barking over the intercoms in a somewhat rough and unpolished Sirian.
The weird kinks of Kusari culture never ceased to amaze Valdez. She was expecting herself to be the one doing the taunting, not those sitting comfortably inside the Command Room of the warship. There also was the question of how she was supposed to face the mystery figure if a thick block of heavy reinforced alloy usually referred to as a door was standing between them. This question was quickly answered as the dragon symbol soon began slowly splitting in two as the slabs of heavy metal sank into the wall on each side. How mad were the Kusarians to let her in like that? Or perhaps this was a clever trap. Raising the rifle in the ready to fire position, she prepared for whatever awaited her on the other side.
A single figure stood inside in the center of the command room next what looked like a gold plated throne that most likely served as the commander's seat. The towering figure wore strange armor, adorned in Kusarian symbols over it's distinct armor pieces. His helmet was just as true to the Kusari style, having what looked like horns on it's front and a face guard of a frowning demon with glowing yellow eyes.
The only reason Eliza had not introduced him yet to the capabilities of the Ageira Armament Subsystems XV-15C's 6x28mm HE/AP rounds was the fact that said figure, while intimidating in it's appearance, held no rifle or blaster to oppose Valdez with. Instead his right hand held a long and sharp blade, most likely another artifact of Kusarian traditions. The saying about the consequences of bringing a knife to a gun fight rang inside Eliza's head. Her grip on the carbine tightened as she centered the red dot sight on the space samurai's chest. As she slowly entered the room, between them still were at least 10 meters, enough for her to empty a sizable portion of her magazine into the Kusarian should he tried something.
So much for the chance of peaceful negotiations for the surrender of the warship to the hands of the Maltese Legion. Eliza squeezed the trigger as soon as the Dragon commander made his first step towards her. To her shock the rounds were deflected by the armored suit's kinetic shield. Her eyes widened in horror as the armored samurai dashed towards her unharmed with his weapon ready to slice her into fine sushi. Her first reaction to roll over her shoulder to the side and out of his way. Immediately upon regaining balance in a crouched position she fired another burst against the Blood Dragon. Again the shots easily deflected into ricochets by the shield. This wasn't working, she needed a new plan and fast. A quick glance over the digital counter on the side of her XV-15C showed 16 in dim red numbers.
The armored hulk, unfazed by the rifle's performance, continued his advance against Eliza's new position. Walk turning into a dash yet again. Being crouched, Valdez had no way to dodge his attack this time. Instinctively she attempted to parry his downward strike with her rifle. The blade struck halfway through the carbine's optic and the sheer force of his strike pushed Eliza on the ground. The Dragon put his off hand on top of the blade's edge right above the handle, intent to push all the way through the rifle and into Eliza's flesh with his weight. If Eliza was about to die she saw no point in conserving the last few rounds she had in her rifle. Her index finger squeezed the trigger hard, letting the fully automatic system empty the rest of the magazine.
The rifle finished its performance with a rather dissatisfying click signaling the chamber was empty and the firing pin had nothing more to hit. This was it. She had done all she could. It took her a few moments to realize what the outcome of her last desperate attempt was. Her armored opponent's hand slipped from the blade as he fell on her knees and almost upon the Maltese girl. Eliza had accidentally found his weak spot - with the carbine's barrel this close to his body, she was practically firing while inside his kinetic shield. The armor piercing rounds had successfully penetrated his much more fragile armor plates and sunk into his chest.
His last words, before he collapsed fully, his weight nearly crushing Eliza if she did not manage to barely slip away by using her rifle as a leaver. Both their bodies laid there on the ground, Eliza on her back and the defeated commander on his face. The girl's heart felt like it would pound itself out of her rib cage. Her head turned to his side. The armored samurai looked dead, but her rifle was damaged beyond any usability. A worthy sacrifice to keep her life intact, but this wild ride was not over yet. Surely there were guards on their way to the command room. She slowly stood up, her back feeling bruised from the rough landing against the cold steel floor. There had to be a way to close the entry door somewhere. An emergency fail safe button of a sorts.
The command throne, yes, that should have been it. She limped to the golden throne, another fine piece of Kusari aesthetics, with dragons on each side. In front of it was a console with many buttons and a holo-display. Her eyes frantically dashed across it, looking for anything that looked like it was marked for emergency. But there wasn't any, they all looked the same to her. And then in her peripheral vision she noticed it, it was on the side of the command throne itself, within reach from where the Blood Dragon commander first stood. With her last remaining strength she pushed the button, the hulking doors closing, the twin pieces of the dragon symbol reuniting yet again.
It was done. She had successfully gained access to the ship's command room and locked herself inside it. Now all that was left to do was signal the rest of the legionnaires that it was done. Her almost limp from exhaustion body slid down onto the golden throne. She needed a moment of rest first. Eliza exhaled before closing her eyes.
When Eliza opened her eyes she was met with the bright embrace of the sun. She wasn't inside the Togo battleship anymore and it startled her until she realized her whereabouts. There she was in her comfortable bed in her home on Malta. The autumn sun gracing her cheeks with it's warm embrace from the window. A puff signaling both relief and disappointment followed. It was stupid to even think that stealing a battleship would be this easy or possible at all. The PDA by her side soon beeped with her morning alarm. A brand new day was dawning and it was time to get up.
"Your dishonorable play ends here, gaijin. Come face me in singular combat if you dare!"
The weird kinks of Kusari culture never ceased to amaze Valdez. She was expecting herself to be the one doing the taunting, not those sitting comfortably inside the Command Room of the warship. There also was the question of how she was supposed to face the mystery figure if a thick block of heavy reinforced alloy usually referred to as a door was standing between them. This question was quickly answered as the dragon symbol soon began slowly splitting in two as the slabs of heavy metal sank into the wall on each side. How mad were the Kusarians to let her in like that? Or perhaps this was a clever trap. Raising the rifle in the ready to fire position, she prepared for whatever awaited her on the other side.
A single figure stood inside in the center of the command room next what looked like a gold plated throne that most likely served as the commander's seat. The towering figure wore strange armor, adorned in Kusarian symbols over it's distinct armor pieces. His helmet was just as true to the Kusari style, having what looked like horns on it's front and a face guard of a frowning demon with glowing yellow eyes.
The only reason Eliza had not introduced him yet to the capabilities of the Ageira Armament Subsystems XV-15C's 6x28mm HE/AP rounds was the fact that said figure, while intimidating in it's appearance, held no rifle or blaster to oppose Valdez with. Instead his right hand held a long and sharp blade, most likely another artifact of Kusarian traditions. The saying about the consequences of bringing a knife to a gun fight rang inside Eliza's head. Her grip on the carbine tightened as she centered the red dot sight on the space samurai's chest. As she slowly entered the room, between them still were at least 10 meters, enough for her to empty a sizable portion of her magazine into the Kusarian should he tried something.
"You've gotten a lot farther than you should have, but then you haven't met Toyotomi Masashige either. Your ride's over, gaijin. Time to die."
So much for the chance of peaceful negotiations for the surrender of the warship to the hands of the Maltese Legion. Eliza squeezed the trigger as soon as the Dragon commander made his first step towards her. To her shock the rounds were deflected by the armored suit's kinetic shield. Her eyes widened in horror as the armored samurai dashed towards her unharmed with his weapon ready to slice her into fine sushi. Her first reaction to roll over her shoulder to the side and out of his way. Immediately upon regaining balance in a crouched position she fired another burst against the Blood Dragon. Again the shots easily deflected into ricochets by the shield. This wasn't working, she needed a new plan and fast. A quick glance over the digital counter on the side of her XV-15C showed 16 in dim red numbers.
The armored hulk, unfazed by the rifle's performance, continued his advance against Eliza's new position. Walk turning into a dash yet again. Being crouched, Valdez had no way to dodge his attack this time. Instinctively she attempted to parry his downward strike with her rifle. The blade struck halfway through the carbine's optic and the sheer force of his strike pushed Eliza on the ground. The Dragon put his off hand on top of the blade's edge right above the handle, intent to push all the way through the rifle and into Eliza's flesh with his weight. If Eliza was about to die she saw no point in conserving the last few rounds she had in her rifle. Her index finger squeezed the trigger hard, letting the fully automatic system empty the rest of the magazine.
The rifle finished its performance with a rather dissatisfying click signaling the chamber was empty and the firing pin had nothing more to hit. This was it. She had done all she could. It took her a few moments to realize what the outcome of her last desperate attempt was. Her armored opponent's hand slipped from the blade as he fell on her knees and almost upon the Maltese girl. Eliza had accidentally found his weak spot - with the carbine's barrel this close to his body, she was practically firing while inside his kinetic shield. The armor piercing rounds had successfully penetrated his much more fragile armor plates and sunk into his chest.
"Ma-ke-ta."
His last words, before he collapsed fully, his weight nearly crushing Eliza if she did not manage to barely slip away by using her rifle as a leaver. Both their bodies laid there on the ground, Eliza on her back and the defeated commander on his face. The girl's heart felt like it would pound itself out of her rib cage. Her head turned to his side. The armored samurai looked dead, but her rifle was damaged beyond any usability. A worthy sacrifice to keep her life intact, but this wild ride was not over yet. Surely there were guards on their way to the command room. She slowly stood up, her back feeling bruised from the rough landing against the cold steel floor. There had to be a way to close the entry door somewhere. An emergency fail safe button of a sorts.
The command throne, yes, that should have been it. She limped to the golden throne, another fine piece of Kusari aesthetics, with dragons on each side. In front of it was a console with many buttons and a holo-display. Her eyes frantically dashed across it, looking for anything that looked like it was marked for emergency. But there wasn't any, they all looked the same to her. And then in her peripheral vision she noticed it, it was on the side of the command throne itself, within reach from where the Blood Dragon commander first stood. With her last remaining strength she pushed the button, the hulking doors closing, the twin pieces of the dragon symbol reuniting yet again.
It was done. She had successfully gained access to the ship's command room and locked herself inside it. Now all that was left to do was signal the rest of the legionnaires that it was done. Her almost limp from exhaustion body slid down onto the golden throne. She needed a moment of rest first. Eliza exhaled before closing her eyes.
...
When Eliza opened her eyes she was met with the bright embrace of the sun. She wasn't inside the Togo battleship anymore and it startled her until she realized her whereabouts. There she was in her comfortable bed in her home on Malta. The autumn sun gracing her cheeks with it's warm embrace from the window. A puff signaling both relief and disappointment followed. It was stupid to even think that stealing a battleship would be this easy or possible at all. The PDA by her side soon beeped with her morning alarm. A brand new day was dawning and it was time to get up.