Slavegear - Part 3

(Everyone)

"Yeah" Kaylee nodded with a smile: "Hopefully we'll catch him off guard too"

Harlequin inspected her touchpad again, then rolled down her sleeve, hiding it from view:
"During the chase, I used my attack on Drasko as a ruse, to plant the tracker on the collar of his shirt.
Hopefully he won't notice anything"

Harlequin looked around and suddenly became restless:
"...where is Rain Runner. She was just with us"

Kaylee looked around and cursed: "Damn! We must have got separated in the tunnels. And the radio reception underground is horrible"


Harlequin waited, frowning at the floor and seemingly thinking: "..we can't stay here. Artemis may find another entrance inside"
She looked at you: "We should move. I'll try to radio Rain Runner, hopefully we can link up when we all reach top side"

"Damn it" Kaylee cursed: "We're getting spread too thin. Everyone! Stay close to each other, don't loose sight of the person in front of you, no matter what"

She looked down the gloomy tunnel and frowned: "Lets go" she said and sprinted ahead.


















(Rain Runner)

You appear to be inside a dark, gloomy tunnel. A lone orange light bulb on the side of the wall, slightly illuminates the area, revealing a fork in the tunnel, further behind you.

A moment later, you hear Harlequins distorted voice in your earpiece:
"..-Rain.....-eep moving.... then head top side-.... radio-... as soon as you resurface.... -link up......-e careful.... , out."

The radio went silent.
You can hear the faint dripping of water and the squeaking of mice, further down the tunnel.

(Tarmikos)


A blood chilling shriek echoed across the field, as the body of the attacker hit the ground.
The next second, every flashlight turned off, dropping a veil of darkness over the area. The remaining figures dispersed, fading into shadows, cast by the burning helicopter and vanished from view.

The night seemed especially dark. You can't spot any of them anymore. For a brief moment you heard the flapping of wings, a few dozen meters ahead, then everything faded to silence again.


You seem to be hidden under a small pile of rocks. You notice that similar piles are scattered around the area.

Eva coughed slightly and opened her eyes:
"...w-whats... happening.." she quietly whispered.

The area is still eerily quiet. You can't seem to spot anyone in the dark. As far as you can tell, there isn't even a shadow moving around.

Moon nodded and sprinted behind Kaylee, her magic brightening the light slightly to make sure that everyone could see properly. Her arms reached out to touch the walls and she looked about, trying to distract herself from the smell. "Let's just hope it doesn't rain"

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Everyone)

"Yeah" Kaylee nodded with a smile: "Hopefully we'll catch him off guard too"

Harlequin inspected her touchpad again, then rolled down her sleeve, hiding it from view:
"During the chase, I used my attack on Drasko as a ruse, to plant the tracker on the collar of his shirt.
Hopefully he won't notice anything"

Harlequin looked around and suddenly became restless:
"...where is Rain Runner. She was just with us"

Kaylee looked around and cursed: "Damn! We must have got separated in the tunnels. And the radio reception underground is horrible"


Harlequin waited, frowning at the floor and seemingly thinking: "..we can't stay here. Artemis may find another entrance inside"
She looked at you: "We should move. I'll try to radio Rain Runner, hopefully we can link up when we all reach top side"

"Damn it" Kaylee cursed: "We're getting spread too thin. Everyone! Stay close to each other, don't loose sight of the person in front of you, no matter what"

She looked down the gloomy tunnel and frowned: "Lets go" she said and sprinted ahead.

"Where do you think this sewer opens out at anyway?" Lord Wyvern asks Kaylee as he struggles to keep up with the pace the others are setting.

Rain nods and starts making her way througb the tunnles. She moves at a fair pace, one that doesnt exhaust her yet keeos her moving at a Fair pace. The mares stomach rumbles, its been quite sometime sense shw had any Food.

As she moves diwn the dimly lit corridor she keeps her ears perked for footsteps.

(Everyone)


"There should be several exits dispersed throughout the city" Kaylee said on the run: "We just need to go far enough to leave the Artemis perimeter"

She kept running forward, Harlequin staying close.
After almost ten minutes of sprinting, Kaylee slowed down, next to a ladder going up and leaned on it, heavily breathing. Something was wrong with her breath, she can't seem to inhale properly.


Harlequin approached and looked up the ladder: "..this should be far enough, we should resurface here. Try contacting Rain again.."

"..okay" Kaylee heavily exhaled: "...damn... my asthma's acting up again.." she squinted, looking up the ladder and started climbing with visible effort: "Come on.... shouldn't.. waste any time.."















(Rain Runner)


The sewer tunnels remained mostly quiet. Here and there, you could hear a muffled shout from up top and the sound of moving cars, but for the most part, only the sound of your breathing and footsteps, echoed across the tunnels.

After several minutes, you come across a ladder, leading up top.

Off to the side, you notice some sort of graffiti. On close inspection, it seems someone spray painted the Vampire Unit logo, onto the side of the sewer.
The words 'Liberation Day Is Coming!' were spray painted just under the logo.


You hear some cars moving from the direction of the ladder up top. It seems it exits at some sort of street.

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Everyone)


"There should be several exits dispersed throughout the city" Kaylee said on the run: "We just need to go far enough to leave the Artemis perimeter"

She kept running forward, Harlequin staying close.
After almost ten minutes of sprinting, Kaylee slowed down, next to a ladder going up and leaned on it, heavily breathing. Something was wrong with her breath, she can't seem to inhale properly.


Harlequin approached and looked up the ladder: "..this should be far enough, we should resurface here. Try contacting Rain again.."

"..okay" Kaylee heavily exhaled: "...damn... my asthma's acting up again.." she squinted, looking up the ladder and started climbing with visible effort: "Come on.... shouldn't.. waste any time.."

"Do you have an inhaler or something for it?" Lord Wyvern asks Kaylee as he catches up with them.

(Everyone)


"No.." Kaylee quietly replied, climbing up: "Its.. okay.. it goes away on its own.. after a while" she heavily inhaled, trying to catch some air: "Its okay... its nothing to worry about.."

She climbed up to the hatch and slightly popped it open, after a while she opened it fulled and waved everyone to follow:

"Okay, the coast is clear.." She climbed out of the sewer and briefly vanished out of your field of vision.



You seem to have emerged in a dark alley, linking to a busy street. City lights of the restaurants and cafe's invitingly shined in the night, placed along a very wide and long street, that seems to lead further into the city. It looks like one of the main roads here, the car traffic was pretty heavy.


Harlequin emerged out of the sewer as well and checked her touchpad again: "...okay.. it seems that Drasko is moving toward the city center at a steady pace... going downtown for a drink?.. that area is densely populated"




"Maybe.." Kaylee scratched her cheek: "..or maybe Marek is hiding in plain sight... No, rather, perhaps his hideout isn't that secret, its just the locals will never surrender his location...
If they believe in Marek, just like Drasko does... they may see him as their savior or liberator... their leader...
After everything the locals have suffered through, Marek must be their only ray of hope..." Kaylee winced at her own words:

"...its a shame... I wish they had someone more honorable to follow.."


Harlequin looked away, taking a hold of her own elbow: "...we should go. I'll try contacting Rain again... hopefully she can link up with us soon...
Drasko is this way, come on" she slightly waved forward and stepped onto one of the main streets of the city.

Kaylee Brown wrote:(Everyone)


"No.." Kaylee quietly replied, climbing up: "Its.. okay.. it goes away on its own.. after a while" she heavily inhaled, trying to catch some air: "Its okay... its nothing to worry about.."

She climbed up to the hatch and slightly popped it open, after a while she opened it fulled and waved everyone to follow:

"Okay, the coast is clear.." She climbed out of the sewer and briefly vanished out of your field of vision.



You seem to have emerged in a dark alley, linking to a busy street. City lights of the restaurants and cafe's invitingly shined in the night, placed along a very wide and long street, that seems to lead further into the city. It looks like one of the main roads here, the car traffic was pretty heavy.


Harlequin emerged out of the sewer as well and checked her touchpad again: "...okay.. it seems that Drasko is moving toward the city center at a steady pace... going downtown for a drink?.. that area is densely populated"




"Maybe.." Kaylee scratched her cheek: "..or maybe Marek is hiding in plain sight... No, rather, perhaps his hideout isn't that secret, its just the locals will never surrender his location...
If they believe in Marek, just like Drasko does... they may see him as their savior or liberator... their leader...
After everything the locals have suffered through, Marek must be their only ray of hope..." Kaylee winced at her own words:

"...its a shame... I wish they had someone more honorable to follow.."


Harlequin looked away, taking a hold of her own elbow: "...we should go. I'll try contacting Rain again... hopefully she can link up with us soon...
Drasko is this way, come on" she slightly waved forward and stepped onto one of the main streets of the city.

"Is it really a good idea to go out onto the streets where large numbers of people will see us so soon after being spotted by Artemis forces?" Lord Wyvern asks "Wouldn't it make more sense to keep using the back alleys?"

(Everyone)


"You're right" Harlequin quickly nodded: "..I'm sorry.. I seem to have momentarily lost my focus.."

She clicked her earpiece, calling Rains name again, then shook her head and made a sharp turn into one of the unlit alleys.


"...Looks like Drasko had to dodge Artemis as well.. he didn't get that far away.." Harlequin said after a while, checking her touchpad.




You seem to be walking through a dirty, poorly lit alley, located between two residential buildings. It seems this alley is mostly used for dumping trash.

Harlequin looked around for a moment, then suddenly grabbed Wyvern's wrist and started dragging him into an adjacent alley:


"Artemis patrol! Up ahead!" Harlequin whispered in alarm. Sure enough, you notice three soldiers in white Artemis uniforms, walking in your direction:


"They're scanning the streets now?" Kaylee whispered.


Harlequin looked around. It seems that similar patrols are wandering around the main street as well, all heading in the same direction.



"This is bad.." Harlequin whispered: "If we stay here, they may box us in, without even realizing it... we need a place to wait it out... until they pass or give up the search, it doesn't look like they know we're here yet..."



Kaylee nervously looked around, trying to study the nearby layout. After a minute she pointed at some sort of abandoned looking warehouse, further down one of the alleys:

"There... we can hide there for a while. I doubt Artemis will start checking every building. It will take too long for them"


"Quickly.." Harlequin whispered: "Before they notice us... stick to the shadows" she whispered.

"Hold up, we need to be sure if it's abandoned. Let me check, if possible."

She puts her hands together, and makes slow breaths. After about five seconds, she fades. Her voice, however, is still audiable.

"Can you guys hear me?"

Rain puts on her mask and climbs the ladder. She pushes it open and jumps up onto the street, she opens her wings and takes to the roofs of the buildings.

She begins to scan allyways, hunting for her friends. She clicks her earpiece, "everybody ok?" she says standing on the corner of a roof.
.

(Everyone)

"T-Twilight??" Kaylee quietly called out in confusion: "W-whats happening?"










(Rain Runner)


"Rain.. its good to hear from you again.." Harlequins quiet voice echoed inside your earpiece:
"I was worried you'd run into an Artemis patrol down in the sewers..

We're back on the street level as well. I think next to the main road, leading down town. We're just next to a large warehouse. There's also some restaurants nearby. Do you see something like that? Over."


As you look around, you spot a massively wide road, leading further into the city, about half a kilometer away. The road was beautifully decorated with shining light strings, hanging over the street.
The traffic was pretty thick there. Numerous cars were using the road to head toward the city center. Countless cafe's and bars lined both sides of the road and a large crowd moved over the side walk.

You also spot a few Artemis soldiers, scanning both sides of the street, mingling inside the crowd.

And some sort of an old, abandoned looking warehouse, a few meters away from the main road.

Rain smirks, "i got you honey..." she says flying over to the warehouse and landing on its roof. She walks along its edge, searching for the group and any sort of artimis soldiers.

"Don't panic, it's a bit of invisibility magic. It won't last too long like this though. So give me a minute."

She heads, under the cover of the spell, to the warehouse, looking to see what's inside.

~Okay, let's see what this place brings to us.~

Moon nodded and sniffed, tracking Twilight by her scent. Her hands shook a little and she looked about before poking her head around the corner.

(Everyone)


You notice Rain Runner, landing on the roof of the warehouse.

Harlequin began gesturing to her to stay in place.


As Moon looked behind the corner, three Artemis soldiers came into view. They seem to be walking down the alley, adjacent to the warehouse. The alley is relatively hidden in the dark, the soldiers seem to be squinting pretty hard, struggling to see.
They don't seem to be aware of your presence, as they slowly walk down the alley.


Kaylee clicked her earpiece and her voice quietly echoed in everyone's radio:


"..three soldiers coming our way. Rain, can you briefly distract them to look the other way? Maybe throw something behind them to make them turn around.
While they're distracted, we'll make a quick run for the warehouse.

Twilight, is the warehouse safe to enter? What do you see?"




As Twilight slowly approach the warehouse, the front door seems to be unlocked. The lock had rusted away years ago.
As she moved inside, she's forced to suppress a cough, as several dust clouds flew cross the room, when the door opened.

The entire place is very wide and spacial. Even rows of boxes and shelves stand throughout the entire first floor. Packages of all shapes and sizes. Wooden boxes filled with who knows what, filled almost every spare inch of the area.

Judging by the impressive layer of dust, covering everything, no one has visited this place in a while. It looks like the building was used to store something and then eventually forgotten, left unused and passed on to time.

You notice a ladder, going up to the second floor. Through the staircase, you can see the roof of the warehouse and more boxes that filled the second floor as well.

"Cough cough! Dust..."

She looks around, and after closing the door and taking a safe spot, she dispels the spell. Then, she answers through the earpiece.

"So far, it seems safe. The only hazard is the copious amount of dust everywhere. Odd thing is, while it looks like a storage place, why is it so empty?"

She takes some dust, trying to see how much there is and how old it is.

Rain draws back her bow, aiming for a nearby trashcan behind them. She releases the arrow and it whizzes through the air punching through the trash bin with a loud bang.

(Everyone)


The impact of the arrow sent a deafening racket across the alley, as the trashcan bent and slammed into a nearby wall.
The Artemis soldiers almost jumped out of their skin, turning around and staring at the trashcan, more in a stunned confusion than fear.


As soon as they turned around, Kaylee quickly waved everyone to follow and dashed toward the warehouse, trying to make as little noise as possible. Her prosthetic faintly clanking against the pavement.


The Artemis soldiers were visibly consumed by studying the trashcan however and didn't notice your movement.





As you enter the warehouse, a few more clouds of dust are raised into the air.

Harlequin waited for everyone to enter and quietly closed the door behind you.

A scene of an old storage space comes into view, left untouched and forgotten. Various wooden boxes of all shapes and sizes, filled most of the area. Large spider webs hung from the ceiling and the amount of dust here was staggering.


From what you can tell, this place was left untouched and unvisited for decades, possibly more.


Kaylee wandered next to a row of boxes and suppressed a coughing fit, from a dust cloud that rose from her footsteps.



Harlequin wearily looked around and whispered: "...we should set up a look out, someone watching  the outside through the windows, to warn us if someone is coming.
We may be here for a little while, until the Artemis patrols stop scanning the city so fiercely."


"Right" Kaylee nodded: "Might as well catch some rest too, is everyone doing alright? Anyone injured or hungry? I have a few field rations in the backpack"

"You got any food? You know...'my sort' of food" she mumbled and sat down on a box, crossing her legs and placing her weapon on the floor. Looking about, she curiously looked at a box for the moment.

(Everyone)


"I got you covered" Kaylee nodded, digging through her backpack until she pulled out a metal flask:

"Medical blood, from the blood banks at Mother Base. I think Elisabeth specially packed it, just in case we'd stay in the field for too long. Here" she passed the flask to Moon with a smile. Then slowly looked around the warehouse, momentarily loosing herself in thought:

"...there's so many boxes here.. I wander why nobody opened them for so long. What did they store here?.. something.. not needed?"



Harlequin slowly sat on one of the tables, adjacent to a window and began looking through it, watching the outside.
She became gradually still, becoming akin to a statue. Her mask obscuring most of her face, only her eyes were slightly visible.
It was hard to tell what she was thinking, though something in her body language reflected a level of uneasiness.

"Hmmmm..."

She studied the boxes, pondering out loud.

"You don't store so much stuff here without reason. The lock was rusted, and there's more dust then I've ever seen. It has been left to rot here. But... It's too public. If it was seperated from the rest it made more sense, but... It's in the city. What happened here? Why is it deserted?"

"Thanks" she took the flask and sniffed the contents for a moment before sipping it quietly. Closing the flask, she reached into her hair and pulled out one of many hairpins that kept it all in place. A few strands fell down and she pulled another one before looking at the lock.

"I'm going to try and pick it.."

(Everyone)


"Okay.." Kaylee stood behind Moon and looked at one of the boxes with anticipation. The nearest box seems relatively large, almost 2 meters in length and width, and about a meter tall.

The lock looks like it hasn't been touched in a very long time.