Techna: Breakdown

IC-Kal:"Ryllia is out fighting right now, and she expressly told me she didn't want to take over CHI. She doesn't even want to be head of IA, even though she's next in line for that. Looks like Cysero's our guy, over there." Kal growled, punching the wall."Still, we don't have much time right now, we have to act quickly and decisively. Move!" That said, Kal quickly moved back into the OR, where the medics were already working on Song.IC-Ryllia:"Hello? Citadel command, this is Ryllia, does anybody read me?" I said into my comm, seriously annoyed that nobody was hearing me. The flanking maneuver wasn't working as well as we had hoped, the Hackers seemed to have expected it. Now our main force was split, while the hackers were pushing through the weaker group, mine.I quickly popped up, firing with my pistol upon a Hacker who was getting too close. Good thing I still had this, at least. Behind me, somewhat, there were medics working on Esao, trying to just keep him alive while I kept trying to bust through.I ducked from a shot, noticing a grenade right beside me. There was no time to toss it back. I began to backpedal away from the grenade, when one of the group that had come with jumped on it, shielding me with his body. I averted my eyes from him, continuing to fight against the Hackers, hoping somebody might come and help us.

IC: Gust (Citadel, New Metru Nui)"This is Gust, love," said the Toa Techna of Air, activating the comm on his desk. Desdemona sat and watched from the couch; the Great Being observed him curiously, as if unsure what he would do to her. "What's up? How's the raid?"-Teezy

IC-Ryllia:"Oh, somebody finally decided to pick up?" I said sarcastically into the comm, as Hasil burst into Gust's office. We both started to say the same thing."Esao's down, the Hackers have us split, and they're about to break through, if you want a summary."IC-Hasil:Hasil was somewhat surprised by that. "Jinx," he said after a moment, for no real reason.

IC: Gust (Citadel, New Metru Nui)Gust's eyes darkened for a minute and he was quiet."I'll be there," Gust said. "Hasil, you and Airu get to CHI, mobilize another two TOA teams to go with you. I'll lead the op personally and meet you at Ryllia's location. Hang in there, girl. We're getting you out of there."As Hasil left, Desdemona's eyes finally came back into focus."I can feel the pain and the death extending their reach," she said softly. "Even from here. It is...an odd feeling.""Do you mean emotion in general, or those specific feelings?""I...I am at a loss for an answer."Gust stood up and walked over to the couch, sitting down beside Desdemona."That means you're softening," he said. "That's good. You're picking up on things a bit."There was silence in the room for a long while as the goth-looking Great Being laid her head against Gust's shoulder. He impulsively flinched but did not move; Desdemona noticed the twitch and burrowed her head deeper into the space between the Toa Techna's shoulder and neck."You are still my guide in this world," she said. "I do not wish to see you in this manner. Would you..."Her voice stopped, and she was silent."Would you like me to help you feel better?"Gust turned his gaze into Desdemona's."No," he said. "No, I wouldn't. I would rather see you in this form than watch you masquerade as the girl I loved--""Loved? You do not love her still?""She's gone. No matter how much you look like her, no matter how alike your mannerisms are...she's gone. And that's never changing."Desdemona nodded, still looking slightly hurt, and her head finally left Gust's body. The Toa Techna of Air sat there for a second before laying his hand softly on her knee and standing up. The Great Being watched as he plucked his pistol from the rack beside the door and walked out to the Citadel garage.-Teezy

IC-Hasil:Hasil met up with Airu quickly...and it seemed he'd had the same idea as Gust, get two teams. And a bunch of medics. Good."Well, Airu, I guess we get to go meet up with Gust now," the Toa of Air said. "Are you coming along, or are you going to stay back and monitor the mission with Kal?"

-==IC: Kairan==-"What could I do to help, sir?" Kairan asked a frown, as he wasn't entirely certain what to do in this situation.OOC: Say, Lev, is there an actual base in those caves, or simply the caves? If there is a base, is there an alternative way out? I have an idea, but I'm not quite certain how to handle it.

IC: Airu (Citadel Hope Hospital, New Metru Nui)"I haven't been out in the field since the Battle of Techna," Airu said, shaking his head. "I can't do it. Too rusty. Hasil, Kairan, you two can lead the teams. I'll be in the Situation Room feeding you intel. Head to CHI now and meet your teams; they're already moving into the air."OOC: If anyone wants to be on those teams, just say you're already suited up and at CHI.IC: Gust (Hangar, The Citadel)The Toa Techna of Air, meanwhile, hopped into his own personal hovercraft and took off towards the Housing District.-Teezy

IC-Kal:"Kairan, do what I just heard Airu say," Kal growled, shoving the Toa of Lightning out of the room-the medics had everything under control now.IC-Hasil:"Understood, sir," Hasil said, nodding his head. He quickly ran over to CHI, looking in the air. One hovercraft lowered down, and he jumped up onto it."Off we go!" He yelled above the sound of the open-air craft's motors, the vehicle already lurching off towards the Housing District.

-==IC: Kairan==-"Yes, sir." Kairan said with a nod, as he quickly followed Hasil outside, and looked around, as another hovercraft was nearby, and Kairan activated his mask to quickly jump into the ship, hoping everyone was ready now."Let's go." Kairan said with a nod; finding it an honour to actually lead one of these teams.

IC: Gust (Housing District, New Metru Nui)Ten minutes later, a hovercraft came peeling through the destroyed streets of the Housing District; the Hackers all turned and began to fire upon it, but a lithe, young, desperately handsome Toa of Air hopped out of the car and pressed down on the button of a trigger he held in his hands. As the car rammed into the ground floor of the hotel, several quick beeps in rapid succession rang out before the car, along with about two dozen Hackers, spontaneously combusted. Gust drew an SMG and aimed down the sights, cutting down another four or five Hackers and effectively clearing out the plaza."Alright, then!" he called out to Ryllia with a monster grin. "If my sense of counting is correct - and I like to think that it is - that means that the Plaza is effectively cleared out and we can move in and secure the hotel."He activated his link and dialed Torch: busy. He tried again. Same result."Hey, Torch, it's Gust," said the Toa Techna of Air as a voicemail began recording. "I'm in the Housing District. Just chilling here and killing Hackers. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Listen, I need you to do me a favor and keep Des from, like, raising her army of hellspawn and taking over the world. Could you do that for me? You're the greatest. I'll buy you breakfast or something when I'm back."He drew his pistol and shot another wounded Hacker with a laugh."Alright, I gotta lead this team. I'll talk to you at the Citadel. I love you, sweetheart--"The bullet soared out of nowhere, it seemed; there was no hint of anything that had gone wrong until Gust let out a gurgled gasp of surprise. The Toa Techna of Air reached up to his throat and felt the wet skin underneath his head. He had just enough time to observe his hand, already fully coated with red, before he collapsed to the ground. It occurred to his rapidly failing mind that Torch was still on the line. He should warn him that he was going to be okay, that breakfast was still on, he wanted to finish that last freaking sentence--Gust finally gave up the fight to stay conscious and closed his eyes, falling into shock almost immediately.-Teezy

OOC: Say, Lev, is there an actual base in those caves, or simply the caves? If there is a base, is there an alternative way out? I have an idea, but I'm not quite certain how to handle it.

OOC: Nope, it was a total trap. If it was a comedy, I would include something really funny at the end, but really, that's unnecessary. Also, unless you've been marking you're trail, you're probably hopelessly lost. Unless you do something cool like blow up the ceiling. Hint - Amalia can blow up the ceiling with mind bullets. Or kill a Yak.

"She's gone. No matter how much you look like her, no matter how alike your mannerisms are...she's gone. And that's never changing."

The priest very specifically said "until death do us apart".IC: AMTaOS & Ezraftin / Testing Lab"Let that all sink in for a moment." the voice echoed back. "So I'll make this even easier - step into the empty green tube next to the death lightning Toa, and the others leave safely. You will be perfectly safe, I promise. Until we perform a vivisection, followed by isolating your arm from the rest of your body and replacing your blood with oil. We'll remove any tumors you have, as a bonus."IC: Kinksh / Golden Hammer Base"What!" Kinksh shouted in a slightly uncharacteristic mix of surprise an glee as he watched the camera feed being sent to him - Gust, taken down by a bullet to the throat.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

OOC: Ah great, now we have to rescue the probably soon to be dead Gust too. =/ And of course we don't have either Blade, or Xakuta Blade yet. Hmm. This isn't good. xD-==IC: Kairan==-Kairan frowned, as the hovercraft took off through the streets, the rest of his team already onboard."Estimated time of arrival?" Kairan asked the pilot, who stated that they should be there momentarily."Get ready, everyone. This won't be an easy fight, knowing all the luck we had." Kairan said, as he gripped the handle of his sword, and prepared for the arrival into the fight.OOC: Lev: Would a mass amount of lightning being released theoretically explode the ceiling?

IC: NPC MedicThe doctor growled in frustration, and looked at Kal. "I don't know what to do here, sir. We can fix the minor wounds, we can fix her armor, but we can't fix her heart. In fact, I looked at her records. I'm frankly amazed she's still alive."

OOC: Spawn has given me permission to bunny Desdemona for this post.IC: TorchTime: ~0850Citadel cafeteriaTorch's comm pinged.Desdemona is contacting you. Answer? y / nHe hesitated several seconds before entering a command.> yAnswering."This is Torch," said the Toa of Plasma. "Speaking?""I haven't spoken yet," responded Desdemona matter-of-factly.Torch stifled a sigh before it could enter the speaker. Desdeoma was dangerous, Gust had said -- a Great Being, and who knew what a Great Being could do through a phone conversation?"Why did you call?" he asked."Not to kill you." Torch's initial reaction to the reply was relief; then he realized, one, Desdemona could be lying, and two, she must have read his mind to interpret his hesitation."What, then?""I..." She sounded awkward. "I want to talk."Torch felt as if he were walking on a tightrope. "About what?""Gust."As if on cue:Gust is on the other line. Answer? y / n> nPutting Gust on ten-second hold..."Talk," Torch told Desdemona."Not here. Anyone could tap in."She was correct, but Torch didn't much like the idea of meeting with a Great Being in secret. The risks of denying her, however..."Where?""The very top floor. Gust's penthouse suite." Did she sound gracious, or was Torch's imagination inventing things? "Thank you." Now Torch could easily interpret the discomfort in her voice, as if she wasn't sure how quite to conduct herself.Maybe, just maybe, she wasn't so bad.But then, maybe she was."I'll be there in a few minutes," Torch said, excusing himself from the table. He muted his speaker to say to Watcher, "I'm sorry, I have... something urgent to deal with. Keep me updated on the status of the attack, please?" Without waiting for an answer, he jogged for the elevator."I'll see you there," were Desdemona's last words before she hung up.Torch hit the up button by the closed elevator doors. A small display above the doors read 5th Floor. The number wasn't changing. The Toa of Plasma swore silently.> Voicemail.You have 1 message. Play back message? y / n> yPlaying back.Caller : GustSent : today, 0851"Hey, Torch, it's Gust. I'm in the Housing District." The display above the elevator moved up to 10th Floor before stopping again, presumably to collect more passengers. Torch frowned but said nothing. "Just chilling here and killing Hackers. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Listen, I need you to do me a favor and keep Des from, like, raising her army of hellspawn and taking over the world. Could you do that for me?" Without waiting for an answer -- in typical Gust fashion -- the Toa of Air's reecording continued: "You're the greatest. I'll buy you breakfast or something when I'm back.""Sure you will," Torch murmured in the brief pause.As if Gust had heard him, the Toa of Air chuckled into the speaker. A faint bang could be heard in the backgound. "Alright, I gotta lead this team. I'll talk to you at the Citadel. I love you, sweetheart--"An odd, tearing sound emerged from the background. Gust's message was concluded with a gurgle and a thud, heavy enough to have been Gust's body hitting the ground...The familiar chill of ice cradled Torch's heart in a death-grip.> Contact Gust.Contacting.Contacting..Contacting...The radio clicked on, and Torch breathed a sigh of relief.--a sigh that was quickly strangled when no flippant voice answered Torch's call, no stale-but-still-funny quip slipped off the tongue in greeting. There was only breathing. Slow breathing. Breathing that, with every passing second, was weakening.Housing District... Karz, where is that!?"Gust?" he called tentatively through the line. "I'm -- I'm coming for you. Don't die on me. Okay? You still need to buy me breakfast."He hung up. Somehow, he managed through his sudden onset of vertigo to dial Airu. Before the Toa could answer, Torch almost yelled into the speaker, "Gust is dying -- he's in the Housing District -- I think he was shot -- where do I go?"

IC(Ylidaeo): NMNYlidaeo shrugged. "If you want to contain it, don't get angry when you snap." he turned back to the building and knocked around it. Still secure. "I have more of these plates to put up around the city. Some for newer buildings, others for repairs on existing buildings." he replied, not turning back to Zynethia

IC: Zynethia, NMN"Sounds like great fun." She replied, her grin growing. "Can I tag along?" She continued, any thought of food now far from her mind.

IC(Ylidaeo): "Fun? There's no time for fun on the job." he replied. "Excuse me." He walked past her to a small cart on the street that held 7 more of the iron plates. "If you wish tag along, you may, but please don't slow me down. These plates need to be up before tonight." he said as he starting pulling the cart down the street to the next building.

IC-Ryllia:Yep, things just kept getting worse and worse. Gust getting shot in the throat was one of those things. I quickly called over a couple of medics, setting them to work helping Gust when Hasil's craft came to us. The Mri jumped out, quickly running over with a grim look on his face."You got any ideas?" I asked him, and he nodded.IC-Hasil:"We do what Gust was just about to. Storm the plaza." Hasil turned. "Everybody with a Hau, convene on me. We're going to form a phalanx. Hau bearers are going to be on the edges and interspersed within, to protect from snipers. You can expect a bullet from every angle. I'll lead the charge, Ryllia and Kairan will be to my sides. Form up!" Hasil yelled when Kairan's group landed, grabbing the Toa of Lightning and setting him to his left, while Ryllia stood to Hasil's right.The group formed up quickly-the Hau users stood, continuing to fire, while everybody without a Hau crouched down, maintaining some cover. Hasil drew his Av'ein-kel, and motioned for the group to move forward before he ran out himself, a bloodthirsty yell raised in his throat.IC-Kal:Kal growled. "If only we had somebody that could give her a bloody heart transplant, we'd be good," the Toa of Plasma said, monitoring the attack on video feed. Gust had somebody working on him, Esao the same, and now...Hasil was leading the group.In a medievel style siege.Kal shrugged, it was probably one of the most unexpected things he could do.

OOC: Heh.-==IC: Kairan==-Kairan frowned grimly as he noticed Gust, but nodded, as he gripped his sword in one hand, and a gun in the other. Even as Hasil ran forward, Kairan shot forward, attempting to give him cover fire, even as he scanned the rooftops.Can't be too cautious... Kairan thought, especially after Gust was shot in the neck.

IC: Airu (Citadel Hope Hospital, New Metru Nui)"I -- he's at the Red Star Apartments by Central Plaza," Airu said, his eyes wide and staring at the screen. "Torch, we have TOA teams there now, we can't risk losing you, stand down--"Click. Torch had hung up.IC: Esao (Central Plaza, Housing District)"Hey, baby," I groaned weakly with a smirk. "What can I do?"I reached for my gun and started to stand up, pushing away two medics.-Teezy

IC: NPC Medic"Unfortunately, I don't even know if that would work." The doctor sighed. "We simply don't know where the problem is, so a transplant might not even help."He smiled slightly. "For now, she's stabilized, though. Heart beat is present, though slightly weaker than normal, and everything else save brain activity is fine." He paused. "I'd like to say it's all thanks to us, but we didn't do much. In fact, I think the only reason she is still going is because she simply refuses to die."The being currently being discussed was vaguely aware of her surroundings. She could feel Aclaraung touch her mind, but she was too weak to respond. In fact, it was taking all her might just to hold on.IC: TainHasil would feel an incoming call. When he answered it, a cheerful voice spoke up.Silence here. I'm on a building a little ways bhind you. Ready to provide sniper cover when needed.

NPC:The Toa of Gravity who had Gust floating behind him rolled his eyes, doing the same thing to Esao."Come with me and give cover fire, sir," the Toa of Gravity growled. "You've been hurt enough that I'm not going to let you run up front...Ryllia would kill me."

IC: Esao (Center Plaza, Housing District)"Bro, I don't think you get it," I said, my eyes gaining focus almost immediately at the sight of Gust. "I am the Special Agent in Charge of the Counter Hacker Initiative. I am also a member of the Techna Guard's Blue Team, and that is my squadmate that you're hovering right now. I am going to go up there, and I am going to take down the people responsible for doing this to him. And I will do this with or without your help. Am I clear?"-Teezy

IC-Kal:"So long as she wakes up," Kal growled. Then he contacted Esao, barely."Esao, you're doing what this soldier says and you're doing it now. After how you've been hurt and Gust as well, you two are going to stay in the center of the group where you're best protected. Enough people have died today, and I don't want to be responsible for another."IC-Hasil:"That would be useful," Hasil growled into the comm, slicing down Hackers as he continued running along to the Plaza. A sniper bullet hit near him, and a second pinged off of his shield."Actually, are you good with counter-sniping?"

IC: Esao (Center Plaza, Housing District)"I'm the best marksman on this battlefield!" I argued. "I can work with Silence, take out any other snipers in the battlefield. All I need is a spotter."Ryllia, babe, I texted. Care to help me avenge a friend?-Teezy

IC: Zynethia, NMNHer grin still growing, Zynethia grabbed one of the metal plates and took off towards the next building, never pausing as she managed to wall-run up a bit of it's metal walls, and then slam the metal plate onto the area where it was needed most. Sliding down, she flashed her grin at Ylidaeo.

IC-Ryllia:I'm working on something else right now, Ryllia texted back, while firing at various Hackers.IC-Kal:"Fine. Have Niman there take you and Gust up over near Tain, he could use some help. But under no circumstances are you to try and get back to the front of the group...do you understand me?"IC-Aclaraung:"Hold on, Song," Aclaraung said, following the workings of the medics with his infrared vision. "Don't give up, don't give in. Keep fighting."

IC: Esao (Central Plaza, Housing District)"I'll go wherever I'm needed," I said simply to the secretary before hanging up. "Get Gust out of this plaza. I'll head up to the penthouse in this building and lay down cover fire from the window. I'll message you when you're clear to run."Fine. I'll be down there as soon as Gust is out. Stay safe for me.Without another word, I turned and ran into the building, activating the elevator.-Teezy

IC(Ylidaeo): Ylidaeo walked up with the cart and looked at where Zynethia had put the plate. "If you put it up higher first, the weaker base won't be able to support the plate." he said, using his power to pull the plate out and slowly drop it to the ground. "You always repair bottom up, not the other way around." He grabbed the plate and started fitting it to an empty spot.

NPC:The Toa of Gravity quickly followed along behind Esao, ignoring the Toa of Fire's expression."Kal's orders," Niman said. "Sent via text." He had Gust in his arms as they quickly moved up, seeing as there wasn't enough room in the elevator for him to float Gust around.

IC: Zynethia, NMNRolling her eyes, Zynethia stepped back and let him work. As she caught a matoran staring at her, she glared at him, her reptilian pupils becoming slits. With a small shriek, the matoran took off in the opposite direction.

OOC: You troll.IC: Esao (Hotel, Housing District)"Fine," I growled. "Make camp in the cafeteria and start moving the injured there. Airu says Torch is inbound to pick up Gust; I want everyone with a pulse inside the cafeteria being attended to before that. I'll give you cover from the penthouse."I knew for a fact I was a better tactician than this medic, and I prayed he did, too.-Teezy

NPC:Niman relayed the orders to the various medics around, before floating Gust down to the cafeteria, using his Akaku to be able to see just where he was putting the Toa of Air."I hope you realize I'm not a medic," he said, pulling out his AV-L19 pulse rifle. "I'm a trained sniper myself, and that's why I have this."

IC(Ylidaeo): "Scaring everyone won't exactly help your problem." he replied as he fit the plate into place. He starting feeling around the edges of it, where it was touching the older plates, trying to sense where it wasn't exactly even.

IC: Esao (Penthouse, Housing District)"That's a right lovely story," I said into my comm. "Are you in the cafeteria?"OOC: Next hour. Current in-game time is 9:00 A.M.-Teezy

NPC:Niman rolled his eyes at the Toa of Fire's antics, before punching in the buttons on the elevator to head straight to the penthouse as well. Half a second and he was out, AV-L19 in hand, scope active and scanning for enemy snipers."Right now," he growled, "I'm up here." He pulled the trigger on the rifle, sending a gravity-hammer wielding Skakdi down to the ground.

IC: Esao (Penthouse, Housing District)"Oi!" I cried indignantly. "You just jacked my sniping position! I was here first..."Sighing, I took my rifle and began to move downstairs, aiming to find another clear hotel.-Teezy

IC: Krash (Krahzia)Krash was.. eating a donut. Walking around, eating a donut. Also, he was suprisingly silen-"WHO LIVES IN A THORNAX UNDER THE SEA?" Nevermind.IC: Lekar (NMN)Lekar brought up the news, having nothing better to do. His eyes widened in shock as he read that Hackers were attacking the city, and quickly scanned the rest of the article. After finishing, he leaned back and hoped the CHI could win out, and soon. Zakaro

NPC:Niman smiled."Good to know I don't have to lose my good spot," he said happily.

IC: TainCalmly, Tain fired shot after shot, all the while searching for enemy snipers. He'd already gotten one of 'em.IC: SongEven in her comatose state, Song was not entirely unaware. She cast her mind out, hoping to find out where and when she was. Time seemed not to pass in her state. It may have been one second, or one year.She had hoped to find relative peace, or a way to wake up.Instead she found only death. People dying by the dozen, all mere blocks away.People in her city were dying.Slowly, Song's brain activity began to rise.

IC-Aclaraung:"Stay calm, Song," Aclaraung growled. "We've just done what we could to keep you alive, no need for you to send all that spiraling down the drain." The Dragon cast out himself, using some help from Song to do so."There's a battle going on in the housing district. Hackers everywhere, but the TOA teams are finally managing to push them away. Thought you might like to know just what was going on, other than death and people being shot."